France is bracing for a day of nationwide protests on Thursday, with a source close to the authorities saying some 800,000 people are expected to take to the streets.
In a rare show of unity, trade unions have urged French people to strike in protest at the authorities’ “horror show” draft budget designed to reduce France’s ballooning debt.
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Road traffic, rail and air services are expected to be disrupted and many schools will be closed on Thursday.
The planned demonstrations come after President Emmanuel Macron last week named his close ally Sebastien Lecornu as the new prime minister to resolve a deepening political crisis.
Lecornu’s predecessor Francois Bayrou lost a confidence vote in parliament over an attempt to get an austerity budget adopted, which he had hoped would cut the French deficit and tackle a growing debt pile.
Last Wednesday, around 200,000 demonstrators turned out in a show of grassroots opposition to Macron following calls on social media to “block everything”.
Officials expect a much bigger turnout on Thursday, pointing to trade unions’ determination to bring out protesting crowds onto the streets as anger simmers over political deadlock and higher living costs.
At least 250 marches are expected to take place on Thursday, a security source said.
A source close to the authorities estimated that around 800,000 people were expected to protest.
The scale of protest action is expected to be comparable to 2023 against the controversial pension reform when between 280,000 and more than a million people demonstrated, depending on the day.
The outgoing interior minister, Bruno Retailleau, told law enforcement officials that “the risks of public disorder are significant due to the presence of small groups of ultra-leftists who will try to infiltrate the official marches”.
Retailleau said that no damage to public buildings would be tolerated, warning of the risk of sabotage and blockades from Wednesday night to Thursday morning.
Around 80,000 police will be deployed across the country.
AFP