ER Editor: A reminder of last Wednesday, September 10 —
Sept 10 protests kick off in France as Macron appoints yet another PM
#greve18septembre
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France braces for day of strikes amid political crisis
About 800,000 people to demonstrate against budget plans, putting pressure on new prime minister
ANGELIQUE CHRISAFIS for THE GUARDIAN
France is braced for one of its biggest strike days in recent years, as trade unions make a rare show of unity to put pressure on the new prime minister, Sébastien Lecornu, to rethink budget cuts and act on wages, pensions and public services.
About 800,000 people are expected to join marches across the country on Thursday, according to police, affecting schools, rail and air transport. Up to 80,000 police will be deployed.
By 7am, several bus depots had been blockaded in Paris and northern France, as well as high school blockades in the east of the capital and Amiens in the Somme. Rail transport was disrupted across France.
A total of 250 marches were planned nationwide as trade unions led demonstrations.
It is expected to be the biggest day of demonstrations since 2023, when large numbers took to the streets to protest against the use of executive powers to push through Emmanuel Macron’s raising of the French pension age to 64 without a vote in parliament.
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The day of demonstrations comes at a time of political crisis in France after Macron last week named his close ally Lecornu as the third prime minister in a year – after the previous two, François Bayrou and Michel Barnier, were ousted by parliament amid bitter disagreements over the budget.
Lecornu, who begins his term in office with very low popularity ratings for a new prime minister, had served as defence minister in the previous two ousted governments and is struggling to convince opposition parties that he is bringing anything new, despite promising a “profound break” with past politics.
Lecornu was appointed after his centrist predecessor, Bayrou, lost a confidence vote on 8 September over his unpopular plan for a €44bn (£38bn) budget squeeze and austerity programme to reduce France’s public debt.
He has said he will ditch Bayrou’s unpopular proposal to scrap two public holidays. But trade unions are concerned that other elements of Bayrou’s budget cuts, such as a freeze on most welfare spending, could be maintained.
Lecornu has only weeks to come up with a budget text and form another minority government. He has to avoid any budget being immediately rejected by opposition parties, which could call a vote of no confidence and oust him from office.
Since Macron called a sudden snap election in June 2024, the French parliament has been split between the left, the far-right and the centre with no absolute majority. This has resulted in repeated deadlock over the budget.
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Marine Le Pen of the far-right National Rally party, a key opposition force, emerged from a separate meeting with Lecornu saying: “If he continues the same politics, he’ll fall.”
France is under pressure to lower a budget deficit of nearly double the EU’s 3% ceiling, and a debt pile equivalent to 114% of GDP.
The Fitch rating agency downgraded France’s credit rating last week, amid concerns over political instability.
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Featured image source, left: https://www.euronews.com/2025/09/17/france-braces-for-more-widespread-strike-and-protest-action-on-18-september
Featured image source, right: Reuters / https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c8643qg252lo
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Published to The Liberty Beacon from EuropeReloaded.com
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