France sees 195,000 protesters as unions target planned budget cuts

# France sees 195,000 protesters as unions target planned budget cuts

Nearly 195,000 people marched through French cities on Thursday to protest planned spending cuts in next year’s budget, according to the interior ministry, as unions turned a new day of action into a direct challenge to the government’s fiscal plans.

The turnout number was disputed by the CGT trade union, which said the total was 600,000. Even with the gap, the scale of the protests is clear: France’s streets were crowded with public-sector workers, teachers, transport staff and other demonstrators angered by austerity plans and what they see as a government failure to protect living standards.

In Paris, the interior ministry counted 24,000 protesters. The CGT said nationwide mobilisation across September 10, September 18 and October 2 had exceeded 2 million participants, calling it a historic resurgence of social activism. The union-led action also briefly shut the Eiffel Tower, which the operating company said would remain closed for the day after workers voted to strike.

The protests were not just a one-day mood swing. They came as President Emmanuel Macron prepared to name a new government under Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu. AFP sources said the cabinet would be leaner than before, with roughly 20 to 25 ministers, and could be announced at the weekend. That backdrop made the demonstrations part of a wider political test of whether the government can still build support for its 2026 budget.

Lecornu was also considering ways to reduce the tax burden on workers. A government source told AFP that options under review included lower social charges on overtime, income-tax relief for some dual-income couples, and reviving the “Macron bonus.” None of that had been decided yet, but the discussion itself showed how pressure from the streets is feeding into budget planning.

The union push reflects a deeper problem. France’s deficit has remained well above the EU’s 3 percent ceiling, and the country is still trying to close a gap that reached 5.8 percent of GDP. Bayrou’s predecessor was ousted in September over a 44-billion-euro squeeze plan, which shows how difficult it is to turn budget arithmetic into parliamentary consent.

The result is a government that must negotiate with both the streets and the assembly. Protesters in Marseille and elsewhere said they were angry about unemployment reforms, healthcare costs and low purchasing power. School workers also joined in substantial numbers. The message was not limited to one policy line: it was a broader refusal to accept austerity as unavoidable.

For Lecornu, the challenge is immediate. If the new cabinet cannot persuade either unions or lawmakers that the budget is fair, France could see more protests and more instability. Thursday’s march made that risk harder to ignore.

The turnout also comes at a moment when public anger is feeding directly into cabinet arithmetic. Retailleau’s hesitation over cabinet participation and Lecornu’s budget options show that the government is trying to balance parliamentary survival, worker demands and deficit reduction at the same time. Thursday’s protests did not settle that equation, but they made clear that any budget built around cuts will have to pass through a far more hostile political environment.