France: Hundreds of Strike Actions Demand End to Austerity

By noon on September 18, approximately 450,000 people had taken to the streets and workplaces across France. Coming just a week after nationwide blockades under the slogan “Let’s Block Everything” (Bloquons tout), Thursday’s strikes and assemblies were called by trade unions and confederations determined to resist another round of austerity measures.

The Ministry of the Interior reported over 470 actions in the first half of the day. Reports about occupations and blockades came from dozens of schools, while pickets and rallies saw the adherence of students, workers, and progressive politicians.

“There are thousands and thousands of strikes in all workplaces,” Sophie Binet, head of the General Confederation of Labor (Confédération générale du travail, CGT), said during one of the marches. “Schools are largely closed. Daycare centers, swimming pools, libraries, and many factories are closed. The entire transportation sector is also affected by strikes. In short, today workers are rising up to say that they can no longer endure this endless night of Macronism.”

This massive wave of mobilization was triggered by a cuts-heavy budget proposed by former Prime Minister François Bayrou, who was ousted on September 8 after losing a parliamentary confidence vote. President Emmanuel Macron quickly appointed Sébastien Lecornu as his successor. Lecornu then announced he would abandon one of the budget’s controversial proposals – the elimination of two public holidays. Union leaders saw this as a result of public pressure, but warned it did not mean a new liberal government would necessarily drop other anti-worker measures such as freezing benefits and wages, cutting public services, and raising medical deductibles.

Instead, unionists stress that the neoliberal project countered on the streets today goes beyond wages or pensions, threatening all aspects of society. For example, media workers organized in the union group Solidaires joined the strike to protest trends in this sector. “The reversal of the elimination of two public holidays should not make us forget the attacks on the press and our profession as journalists,” the National Union of Journalists (Syndicat national des journalistes, SNJ) stated. “The public broadcasting holding company project is still on the table, public subsidies for the press continue to be allocated to publications without journalists, and media companies are resorting to redundancy plans, seeking to replace the work of professionals with artificial intelligence.”

According to trade unionists and progressives, France’s current political and economic turmoil stems from Macron’s insistence on policies favoring elites and private corporations. These measures have driven up debt while deepening poverty. “Inequality and the number of people falling below the poverty line are skyrocketing, the consequences of climate change are multiplying and having a direct impact on workers, company closures and job losses are on the rise, public services are in crisis, wages are not enough to live with dignity, and essential workers are still waiting for recognition and dignity at work,” the CGT noted in an earlier strike announcement.

Mobilizations against austerity are expected to continue in the coming weeks, converging with other struggles, including Palestine solidarity. “For our organizations, it is imperative to build a completely different budget that brings hope, social, and fiscal justice,” the CGT noted.

Courtesy : Peoples dispatch