Rail workers, teachers, healthcare staff, firefighters and other French public-sector employees are on strike, demanding better pay and working conditions. Eight unions have scheduled about 170 demonstrations nationwide, hoping to influence government decisions on a budget due to be presented Thursday.
Unions have made public employees’ purchasing power their central message. France’s national statistics institute, INSEE, says public-sector salaries have risen only twice since 2017, by about 5% in total, while cumulative inflation has reached 24%. Soaring fuel prices have added to the pressure. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu is planning to freeze public servants’ pay in next year’s budget.
Authorities expect between 5,000 and 10,000 firefighters to march separately in Paris from Place de la Bastille before joining other demonstrators at Place de la République. The CGT union expects tens of thousands of public employees at the Paris rally, while primary-school teachers’ union SNUipp-FSU forecasts 40% participation in the strike among primary educators. Public transport is also expected to be disrupted.
Union leaders argue that quality public services depend on good working conditions and recognition of employees’ work. CFDT representative Marylise Léon said officials speak about workers mainly through figures. CFE-CGC leader Christelle Tiffane described a decade of frozen pay increases as unsustainable. CGT head Sophie Binet warned that mobilisations would continue until demands are met.
High-school occupations are also continuing, after beginning last week in schools around Paris. Students are protesting staff and infrastructure shortages and calling for basics including desks, chairs and teachers. Binet urged the government to listen and stop sending police to schools; she said students had been targeted with tear gas and warned of possible escalation.