France braces for continued unrest as protests surge against Macron government and new PM Lecornu

PARIS — Protesters across France staged a day of nationwide strikes and demonstrations on Thursday, challenging President Emmanuel Macron's government and its budget proposals. Labor unions say the plan would slash funding for public services that underpin daily life, and they mobilized in cities from Paris to smaller towns, disrupting transport and schools and drawing tens of thousands of participants.

Riot police confronted demonstrators in Paris before dawn as clashes broke out at transit depots and in the streets. The first signs of trouble were marked by tear gas as riot officers clashed with protesters in the capital. In Paris, a bus depot became a flashpoint and traffic near major intersections slowed to a crawl. A street medic tended to a man amid the day’s disruptions, while some protesters waved banners and carried makeshift symbols of anger at the government’s plans. "We say 'no’ to the government. We’ve had enough. There’s no more money, a high cost of living," said Nadia Belhoum, a transport worker at a pre-dawn protest outside a Paris bus depot. "People agonizing, being squeezed like a lemon even if there’s no more juice." The demonstrations spanned the country, with marches from big cities to small towns and reports of smoke and skirmishes as police sought to maintain order. A street proffered a guillotine motif as part of the protest imagery, underscoring anger over austerity measures.

Image: Protests in Paris

New PM’s baptism of fire followed Macron’s decision to appoint Sébastien Lecornu last week and demand that he secure parliamentary backing for belt-tightening measures. The aim, officials say, is to push through reforms with a minority government. But protesters, including Juliette Martin, a 22-year-old student, said Lecornu’s arrival changes nothing. "Bringing in Lecornu doesn’t change anything — he’s just another man in a suit who will follow Macron’s line," she said. "We want our voices heard. People my age feel like no one in politics is speaking for us. It’s always our generation that ends up with the insecurity and the debt." Opponents of Macron’s leadership contend that taxpayer-funded public services—free schools and public hospitals, subsidized health care, unemployment benefits and other safety nets—are being eroded.

Unions warn that the budget proposals would be brutal for workers, retirees and other groups most exposed to economic hardship. Fabien Villedieu, a leader of the SUD-Rail train workers union, said: "The bourgeoisie of this country have been gorging themselves, they don’t even know what to do with their money anymore. So if there is indeed a crisis, the question is who should pay for it. We are asking that the government’s austerity plan that consists of making the poorest in this country always pay — whether they are employees, retirees, students — ends and that we make the richest in this country pay."

Massive police operation accompanied the protests, with authorities deploying about 80,000 officers nationwide in an effort to break up blockades and ensure the public could go about daily life. By midday, the Interior Ministry said 94 people had been arrested nationwide. In Paris, members of the BRAV-M, the motorized anti-riot units, were seen charging protesters as clashes flared in several neighborhoods. The government said the show of force was necessary to prevent disruptions from spiraling and to protect transport corridors that millions rely on daily. "Every time there’s a protest, it feels like daily life is held hostage," said Nathalie Laurent, an office worker trying to navigate the Paris Metro during the morning commute. "You can feel the frustration in the air. We don’t need big speeches; we need to know that someone in government understands what this chaos means for us." The authorities reported sporadic clashes in Nantes in the west and Lyon in the southeast, with tear gas and projectiles exchanged between protesters and police.

Public services bear the brunt of the opposition’s demands, as opponents insist that funding for schools, hospitals and social welfare should be preserved or expanded, not cut. The government contends that reforms are needed to rein in a mounting deficit and to keep public services sustainable over the long term. In Paris, the Metro ran at reduced capacity outside peak hours, while three driverless lines operated with limited disruption. SNCF said most high-speed trains would run, but many regional services and commuter lines faced delays and cancellations. Airports reported only modest disruption because the air-traffic controllers’ union postponed a strike pending the formation of a new Cabinet. The protests, while significant, did not achieve the breadth of disruption called for by some organizers but nevertheless marked a sustained flare-up of discontent as Macron’s mandate enters its final years in office.

The demonstrations come as Macron faces criticism over pension reforms that raised the minimum retirement age from 62 to 64, a change that helped spark earlier rounds of protests and intensified political volatility. The new government under Lecornu must navigate a fragile parliamentary landscape and a public wary of austerity. Analysts say the scale and persistence of Thursday’s actions signal that protests could intensify if the government presses ahead with its budget plan without concessions.

Image: Protesters in France ahead of a national day of action

As France looks ahead to a long political season, unions vow to keep pressure on policymakers. They argue that any stability in the economy should not come at the expense of workers’ livelihoods and the public services that define the French social contract. Officials say they will continue to deploy security forces and maintain order while seeking a dialogue with leaders and labor groups. The protests reflect broader concerns about cost of living, rising inequality and the challenge of balancing budget discipline with a social safety net that many French people see as a cornerstone of national life.