More than one million people have taken part in strikes and protests across France in response to budget cuts proposed by Emmanuel Macron’s government, according to organisers.
As strikes hobbled the Paris Metro and disrupted other services, nationwide demonstrations saw sporadic clashes with police who fired volleys of tear gas into crowds.
The day of upheaval aimed to turn up the heat on new Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu and President Macron, who are engaged in an intensifying battle both in parliament and on the streets about how to plug holes in France’s finances.
Their opponents are fighting proposals to cut spending on schools, hospitals, subsidised healthcare, unemployment and other safety nets that are cherished in France.
It follows a series of crises faced by the Macron government since he dissolved parliament in 2024, triggering a legislative election that stacked Parliament’s lower house with critics of the president.
Earlier this month, Macron appointed his defence minister and close ally Lecornu as the new prime minister after François Bayrou was ousted by a vote-of-no-confidence over proposed budget cuts.
Marching with thousands of other protesters in Paris, hospital nurse Aya Touré summed up how many people across the country are feeling.
“Fed up. Really, really fed up," she said. “Those people governing us, they have no clue about real-life issues. We are paying the price.”
Clara Simon, a history student who marched through Paris brandishing a poster that read, "University in danger," said: “I don’t know how it’s even possible to consider making cost savings.
“There’s already no money for soaps in the toilets, no money to fix a seat when it’s broken. I’m angry because the economic and social situation in France is deteriorating every year.”
Left-wing parties and their supporters want the wealthy and businesses to pay more to help rein in France’s debts, rather than see public spending cuts that they contend will hit low-paid and middle-class workers.
“We need to find money where there’s money," said Pierre Courois, a 65-year-old retired civil servant. “France’s deficit is an issue, but it’s not by cutting on public services that you fix it.”
