French unions strike against austerity, pressuring Macron

Hundreds of thousands took part in anti-austerity protests across France on Thursday, unions said, urging President Emmanuel Macron and his new Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu 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 for hours.

Protesters called 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.

"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 the rally in front of that Paris high school.

UNIONS WANT TO PRESSURE GOVERNMENT ON BUDGET

Sophie Binet, head of the CGT union, said 400,000 took part in morning rallies across France with more, including the Paris one, not yet counted. The interior ministry said over 280,000 took part in rallies outside of Paris.

"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," Binet said.

Macron's new prime minister is scrambling to put together a budget for next year, and a new government.

He and Macron 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

There were brief clashes on the margins of some of the protests including in Nantes, with police firing tear gas, and in Lyon, where French media said three people were injured.

In Paris, police at one point threw teargas to disperse black-clad troublemakers who threw a few projectiles at them ahead of the rally, allowing the protest march to carry on. Police said they also stepped in to stop people targeting a bank.

More than 140 people have been arrested so far, the interior ministry said. Some 80,000 police and gendarmes were set to be deployed throughout the day, including riot units, drones and armoured vehicles.

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.

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 signalled a willingness to compromise.