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lite.cnn.com - on gopher - inofficial
ARTICLE VIEW:
French unions strike against austerity, pressuring Macron
By Reuters, CNN
Updated:
10:06 AM EDT, Thu September 18, 2025
Source: CNN
Hundreds of thousands took part in anti-austerity protests across
France on Thursday, unions said, urging President Emmanuel and his new
Prime Minister Sebastien to acknowledge their anger and scrap looming
budget cuts.
Teachers, train drivers, pharmacists and hospital staff were among
those who went on strike as part of the day of protests, while
teenagers blocked dozens of high schools.
Protesters are calling for the previous government’s fiscal plans to
be scrapped, for more spending on public services, higher taxes on the
wealthy, and for the reversal of an unpopular change making people work
longer to get a pension.
“Block your high school against austerity,” read a placard raised
by a student in front of the Lycee Maurice Ravel high school, where the
gathering included teachers and workers’ representatives.
Unions want to pressure government on budget
“The anger is huge, and so is the determination. My message to Mr.
Lecornu today is this: it’s the streets that must decide the
budget,” Sophie Binet, the head of the CGT union, said as Macron’s
new prime minister scrambles to put together a budget for next year,
and a new government.
Binet said 400,000 took part in morning rallies across France with
more, including one in Paris, yet to get started.
Macron and Lecornu are under pressure on one side from protesters and
left-wing parties opposed to budget cuts and, on the other, from
investors concerned about the deficit in the euro zone’s second
largest economy. Parliament is deeply divided and none of its three
main groups have a majority.
“This is a warning, a clear warning to Sebastien Lecornu,” Marylise
Leon, the head of the CFDT union said of Thursday’s protests. “We
want a socially fair budget,” she said.
Protests hit schools, trains
An Interior Ministry source said earlier this week that as many as
800,000 people were expected to take part in the strikes and protests.
One in three primary school teachers were on strike nationwide, and
nearly one in two walked off the job in Paris, the FSU-SNUipp union
said.
Regional trains were heavily affected, while most of the country’s
high-speed TGV train lines worked, officials said. Protesters gathered
to slow down traffic on a highway near the southeastern city of Toulon.
There were some clashes on the margins of protest rallies in the
western city of Nantes, with police firing tear gas, and in Lyon, where
French media said three people were injured.
“Workers are currently so despised by this government and by
(President Emmanuel) Macron that, in fact, it can’t continue like
this,” bus driver and union representative Fred said at a rally in
front of a Paris high school blocked by students.
Workers angry over fiscal plans
France’s budget deficit last year was close to double the EU’s 3%
ceiling but much as he wants to reduce that, Lecornu - reliant on other
parties to push through legislation - will face a battle to gather
parliamentary support for a budget for 2026.
Lecornu’s predecessor, Francois Bayrou, was ousted by parliament last
week over his plan for a 44 billion euro budget squeeze. The new prime
minister has not yet said what he will do with Bayrou’s plans, but
has signaled a willingness to compromise.
Some 80,000 police and gendarmes were set to be deployed throughout the
day, including riot units, drones and armored vehicles. More than 90
people had already been arrested on various sites, police said.
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