PARIS – French protesters were on Thursday staging a day of nationwide disruption in a show of anger over President Emmanuel Macron’s budget policies, with mass protests expected, transport chaos and clashes between police and demonstrators.
Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu, Macron’s seventh head of government, took office last week, vowing a break from the past against the background of an ongoing political crisis. But the appointment of the former defence minister has failed to assuage the anger of unions and the left. They remain incensed about the draft 44-billion-euro ($52-billion) cost-saving budget of his predecessor Francois Bayrou, despite Lecornu’s pledges to abolish both the life-long privileges of prime ministers and a widely detested plan to scrap two public holidays.
With unions calling for strikes, around a third of teachers walked out, nine out of 10 pharmacies were shuttered and commuters faced severe disruption on the Paris Metro, where only the three driverless automated lines were working normally.
Police in Paris and Marseille used tear gas to disperse early, unauthorised demonstrations. On the outskirts of the northern city of Lille, protesters took part in an early morning union-led action to block bus depots. “The aim is to show the government that we’re here, that we’re fed up with being taxed like crazy, that we’re fed up with having trouble making ends meet on the 15th of the month,” said Samuel Gaillard, a garbage truck driver.
Even schoolchildren joined the actions, with 300 pupils blocking access to the Maurice Ravel secondary school in Paris and brandishing slogans such as “block your school against austerity”.
