France Faces Nationwide Strikes Over Budget Plans
- On Tuesday, September 29, 2026, eight major French public sector unions led a nationwide strike to protest government plans for the 2027 budget and proposed salary freezes.
- Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu intends to freeze civil servant pay for a fourth consecutive year, a proposal unions labeled 'a real provocation' as the index stalled since July 2023.
- Across France, 170 demonstrations drew more than 100,000 participants, including 40 percent of primary teachers, while firefighters marched claiming 'We're short of everything' to protest equipment shortages.
- Transport networks maintained 'near-normal traffic' despite the strike, though the USL student union escalated tensions by calling for nationwide high school blockades to expand the labor action.
- Unions timed the mobilization to exert maximum pressure before the government unveils the 2027 budget on Thursday, mirroring the scale of the major December 2024 protests.
114 Articles
114 Articles
On Tuesday 29 September, just a few days from the discussions in the National Assembly on the state budget, several trade union organisations called for mobilization throughout France.
An unprecedented alliance of eight unions brought together public employees, firefighters, police, teachers and students against the wage freeze and an adjustment of 54 billion euros
On Tuesday, the French government faced the first demonstrations of an autumn in which several factors of social anger converge: the high price of gasoline and the government’s willingness to apply cuts of 54 billion euros. Between more than 300,000 (according to the unions) and 206,000 people (Ministry of the Interior) have protested in 170 cities on this day of strikes in various sectors of the public service. Although the figures of protester…
According to the CGT union, this day of mobilization brought together more than 300,000 demonstrators across France.
Le Journal de Montreal
Le Journal de QuebecThousands of public officials, including firefighters, planned to protest in France on Tuesday against the decline in their purchasing power.
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