French unions down tools together today against the austerity budget, with school pupils and yellow vests joining in
The Lecornu government faces a national day of action over wages and purchasing power, with little budgetary room and six months before the presidential election.
In France, the five main unions, CFDT, CGT, FO, Unsa and FSU, have called a national day of strikes and demonstrations for Thursday in both the private and public sectors, franceinfo reports. They are demanding pay rises across all sectors and a revision of the draft 2027 budget, which among other things freezes social benefits and the index point that sets civil servants' pay. Their list also includes higher pensions, a higher minimum wage and taxes on wealth, inheritance and dividends. A meeting with the government on 21 October failed to satisfy the unions.
Rail operator SNCF expects slight disruption on TGV lines and more on Intercités, regional TER trains and trains around Paris, writes franceinfo. At Paris transport operator RATP, the metro, trams and buses are running normally, but the RER B line is disrupted. According to The Local, 17 percent of teachers have given notice of strike action, and hospitals may see disruption to non-urgent care, as may the postal service and local government offices. No flight cancellations had been announced as of Tuesday, Aju Press reports.
The day of action follows weeks of blockades by school and university students demanding more money for education. According to the government, 51 of France's 184 higher education institutions were disrupted on Tuesday morning, and on 31 October some 320,000 people marched across the country, with 779 arrests, according to Aju Press. The yellow vests are calling for their own day of action on Thursday and want to take to the streets again on 6 and 7 November, writes The Local.
Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu has little room for manoeuvre, franceinfo argues. The French economy shrank by 0.1 percent in the third quarter, the government wants to save 43 billion euros to keep next year's deficit at 5 percent of GDP, and it has no majority in the National Assembly. One minister admits that budgetary options are very limited. The government does point to the release of strategic diesel stocks, which according to Lecornu cut pump prices by 15 cents a litre within 48 hours.