France nationwide strikes and protests over wages and purchasing power, Digi Mart USA News (France): Thursday could mark the peak of a turbulent autumn of social unrest in France. The first strike-related disruptions began Thursday morning, ahead of demonstrations scheduled throughout the day over wages and purchasing power, called by all unions.
Less than six months before the presidential election, authorities expect 500,000 to 700,000 people outside Paris and 40,000 to 80,000 in the capital for these heavily secured protests. The events follow numerous violent incidents and looting on the margins of the October 17 marches.
Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez has announced the mobilization of 70,000 police officers and gendarmes, promising an “extremely firm response” to any possible “excesses.”
Marine Tondelier, the ecologist candidate in the presidential race, said President Emmanuel Macron is paying “for his entire record” with the current social movement. She said he is “finishing his term as he governed, that is, alone against everyone.” She also said it will be “complicated” for the executive to respond to a “convergence of struggles.”
This is the first call since the start of the new season involving both the public and private sectors. The movement has drawn in high school and university students, the yellow vest protesters, who have revived protests against the high cost of living over the past three Saturdays, as well as farmers.
Marylise Léon, general secretary of the CFDT union, said, “We want to say that we can live with dignity from our work.” Sophie Binet, general secretary of the CGT, criticized that “security measures will not end the demonstrations; it is by responding to the demands,” citing 260 planned demonstrations across France.
Soaring fuel prices and a proposed austerity budget have placed purchasing power at the heart of the social discontent, which has grown steadily since the end of summer. According to a barometer published Wednesday, one in two people say they struggle to make ends meet with their household resources.
France, the euro zone’s second-largest economy, is heavily indebted and under close market scrutiny to put its finances in order.
In Angoulême in western France, no buses are running because the local public transport depot is blockaded. In the Paris region, transport disruptions were limited early Thursday morning.
At Montparnasse station, psychologist Jeanne, who did not wish to give her surname, said, “It’s painful to get up early, wait, and see your train canceled, but it’s normal that there’s a strike; there has to be a strike.”
The unions are demanding a raise in the minimum wage (SMIC), which has not received an increase since 2012, a general pay increase, greater tax fairness, preservation of public services, and better study conditions for young people. Regarding the minimum wage, the government said there “may be a measure,” with a possible announcement on Friday.
The day of mobilization has been accompanied by protests over restrictions on the right to demonstrate, as several cities have banned marches in parts of their city centers. In Lyon, the third-largest city in France, the prefecture banned the demonstration in the hyper-center and proposed another route, a decision the courts upheld.
In Paris, police installed barriers along Boulevard Voltaire, which the procession will ultimately use after the union coalition lost a legal challenge against the Paris police prefecture. Some shops protected their windows with wooden boards.
“We need to show numbers to be heard today,” Binet said, calling such challenges to fundamental freedoms “unprecedented.” Organizations including the Syndicat de la magistrature, the Syndicat des avocats de France and the Human Rights League denounced an “authoritarian shift” and referred the matter to the Conseil d’État.
The protest movement in France has echoes in several European countries. High school students, university students and teachers returned to the streets in Greece on Thursday to demand more resources.
Protests against the high cost of living and for increased education funding have also taken place in recent days in Germany and Italy. Housing rights unions and associations in six other European countries (Italy, Portugal, Spain, Belgium, Greece and the United Kingdom) have called for “coordinated demonstrations” against the high cost of living at the end of November.
