France braces for day of strikes amid political crisis | France
France is preparing for one of the largest strike days of recent years, as trade unions show a rare unity to rethink budget cuts to the new Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu and to act on wages, pensions and public services.
According to the police, approximately 800,000 people are expected to go to the streets during walks throughout the country, while schools, railway and air transport will be affected. A total of 80,000 policemen will be deployed.
Emmanuel Macron’s French retirement age is expected to be the largest demonstration day since 2023, when large numbers went to the streets to protest the use of administrator forces to push the French retirement age to 64 without voting in parliament.
Perrine Mohr from the Moderate CFDT Union in the Kuzey Houts-de-France region, speaking on local public radio, Lecornu should appeal to the anger felt in France, INTRA. Since Macron came to power in 2017, we had a pro -enterprise, a government with a tax reduction and unconditional assistance to enterprises. What we ask is that the future government is more workers and passengers. ”
The day of the demonstration last week, Macron’s close ally Lecornu in a year after the third prime minister in a political crisis in France – the previous two François Bayrou and Michel Barnier, the Budget was removed by Parliament in the midst of painful disputes.
Lecornu, who started his term of office with very low popularity ratings for a new prime minister, has served as defense minister in the previous two previous government and promises to convince the opposition parties to bring something new despite the promise of a “deep break” with past policies.
Lecornu was appointed after the Central Salafist Bayrou gave a vote of non -popular plan for a popular plan for a boring program for a budget squeezing € 44 billion (£ 38 billion) on September 8th and France to reduce public debt. Lecornu said Bayrou would throw a deep popular offer to scrape two public holidays. However, trade unions are concerned that Bayrou’s budget cuts – such as freezing in welfare spending – other elements can be sustained.
Lecornu has only weeks to find a budget text and to form another minority government. Any budget must refrain from being rejected immediately by opposition parties who can vote insecure and dismiss it. Since Macron called a sudden election last June, the French parliament has been divided between the left, the extreme right and absolute majority. This caused a dead end over the budget over and over again.
On Wednesday, Lecornu met with the opposition parties while consulting the budget before appointing a new government. The past of the 39 -year -old past was traditional just before Macron joined the centrists, and probably likely to fulfill the cooperation of any new government with the traditional right -wing party Les Républicains and Macron’s pro -business economic policy heritage.
However, if Lecornu is to avoid being transferred with an insecure vote, he is under pressure to find a way to address the Socialist Party, so observers believe that they can at least accept a pact that they will not vote for at least to overthrow it.
The Socialists met Lecornu on Wednesday and called for il Fair contributions from the richest ”and they wanted more policies to help the French people to meet. However, the leftist delegation came out, saying he did not say much about Lecornu’s plans. Socialist leader Olivier Faure told reporters, “We will see what he’s saying in the coming days,” he said. Faure, Lecornu’nun “not willing to listen to us”, said socialists could participate in a future insecure vote to overthrow him.
Marine Le Pen, the far -right national party, which has an important opposition power, emerged from a separate meeting with Lecornu: “If he continues the same policy, he will fall.”
France is under pressure to reduce a budget deficit with a budget deficit of about twice the 3% ceiling of the European Union and a pile of debt equivalent to 114% of GDP. Fitch rating agency reduced France’s credit rating last week with concerns about political instability in France.
