France braces for demonstrations as trade unions strike

Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to take to the streets across France on Thursday, as unions hold strikes alongside student-led demonstrations that have gripped the country for weeks.

The protests 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 youth protesting dismal 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.

“We should be able to make a decent living from our jobs,” CFDT union secretary general Marylise Leon said on the BFM television channel, addressing both the state and employers.

The unions are calling for an increase in the minimum wage, which has not received any discretionary boost since 2012, across-the-board wage raises, tax reforms and better learning conditions for young people.

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

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

– ‘Firm response’ –

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.

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.

Dozens of high-schoolers protested in several cities.

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

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

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

– ‘Wake-up call’ –

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.

Authorities have admitted to security and intelligence failures that paved the way for the clashes, large-scale looting and vandalism of public property that erupted on October 17.

On Wednesday, the Paris prefecture banned a major protest route, instead replacing it with an authorised route moving eastward away from the centre.

Several unions have denounced route bans as a move to repress freedom of demonstration.

A union source in the southern city of Toulouse said they would be protesting in its centre, despite a court upholding a police ban on the route.

“We can feel a cumulative effect: public sympathy for the high school and university students’ movement is not waning, and people are questioning restrictions on liberties, especially bans on demonstrations,” Fabrice Fort of the CGT union explained.

“This has sparked a wake-up call among people who usually don’t speak out much,” he added.

Similar protests have sparked in other European countries in recent weeks with youth-led demonstrations seen in Denmark, Germany and Italy.

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