France workers strike, march for ‘dignified wage’

Striking workers marched across France against the rising cost of living on Thursday, with hundreds of thousands of people expected to take to the streets nationwide in a new escalation following weeks of protest.

The demonstrations come as the eurozone’s second largest economy battles to redress its finances, six months ahead of elections to replace centrist President Emmanuel Macron, with the far right leading in opinion polls.

The high school student movement that began with youths protesting over learning conditions has coincided with widespread anger over the rising cost of living and inequality, which culminated on October 17 in the worst rioting France has seen in years.

Sylvie Larneury, 61, a healthcare manager, and her 61-year-old partner, an IT specialist, were on strike Thursday so they could join the march in the central city of Clermont-Ferrand.

“We’re fed up. We’re not starving, but we have to help our children even though they’ve studied,” she said.

“We’ve had enough of social injustice,” she added, criticising what she called “a repressive government that defends its own interests and not those of the majority”.

The unions are calling for across-the-board wage raises, tax reforms and better learning conditions for young people and have complained about police restrictions on certain protests.

Protesting in the city of Lyon, winegrower Martin Thiberge said he wanted to take part in demonstrations he saw as drawing together people from across French society.

“We want to make a living from our work, to make a dignified wage,” he said.

Authorities estimated some 500,000 to 700,000 people would protest across the country on Thursday, while as many as 80,000 people were expected to march from 2:00 pm (1300 GMT) in the capital Paris.

Unions hoped for a turnout comparable to France’s pension reform protests in 2023 that saw over one million people march.

– School blockades –

Dozens of high-schoolers protested in several cities, with the government reporting blockades at 81 out of the country’s 3,700 high schools.

A high school student association said classes had been suspended at 1,000 such secondary schools, including those blockaded and those closed on a day of strikes.

Around 16 percent of teachers nationwide were on strike, the education ministry said.

In Paris, police used tear gas to try to prevent students from blocking access to the Helene-Boucher high school, an AFP reporter said.

Public and private education unions have called for strike action, as well as unions representing rail workers, public hospitals and postal services.

Train travel experienced some disruption on Monday morning.

At the capital’s Montparnasse train station, a psychologist who gave her name as Jeanne said her trip had been delayed.

“It’s tedious to get up early, wait, and then see your train cancelled, but it’s understandable there’s a strike,” she said.

– Police violence alleged –

Interior Minister Laurent Nunez announced Wednesday that 70,000 police officers and security forces would be deployed across the country, promising “an extremely firm response” to any “acts of violence” or disorder.

The protests have been largely peaceful, though some disintegrated into clashes with police, who have fired tear gas and water cannon to disperse crowds.

An attempted murder investigation has been launched after petrol bombs were thrown at security forces in Paris on Saturday.

The police response has been criticised as heavy-handed and internal police investigations have been launched over allegations of brutality against demonstrators.

Several teenage protesters have been seriously wounded and thousands arrested.

Similar protests have erupted in other European countries in recent weeks in Denmark, Germany and Italy.

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