Teachers, machinery, pharmacists and hospitals staff went on strike in France, while teenagers blocked high schools on Thursday (18) as part of a day of protests against budget cuts in the country.
Unions ask for more public service expenses, higher taxes to the rich and the reversal of an unpopular change that forces people to work harder to get a retirement.
In Paris, many subway lines have been suspended for most of the day, except at the morning and afternoon times. Students gathered to block the entrances of some schools.
A poster said, “Block his school against austerity,” he was erected by a student in front of Maurice Ravel High School in the French capital, where the protest included teachers and workers’ representatives.
“Workers are currently so despised by this government and (President Emmanuel) Macron that this can actually not continue like this,” Fred, a bus driver and representative of the CGT union, said in a protest in front of the school.
“I am here to defend public services,” said Professor Gaetan Legay, 33, in the same rally, “in particular, to demand that public money returns to public services … instead of large companies or in taxes of ultra -rarices.”
Macron and his, are under pressure from Parliament due to probable budget cuts and investors concerned about the deficit in the second largest economy in the eurozone.
Schools and companies of French trains adhere to the protests
One in three elementary school teachers was on strike across the country, and almost one in two abandoned work in Paris, the FSU-Snuipp union said.
The regional trains were strongly affected by the demonstration, while most of the country’s high -speed train lines in the country operated, authorities said.
Protesters gathered to reduce the speed of traffic on a highway near the city of Toulon in the southeastern country.
The nuclear production of the French concessionaire Edf fell slightly, in 1.1 gigawatts, on the morning of Thursday (17), according to company data, while workers reduced energy production in Flamanville 1 reactor.
The Confederation Paysanne Farmers Union also requested mobilization. Pharmacists are outraged by the changes that affect their business, and the pharmacist union said that a survey conducted between pharmacies showed that 98% of them can close the doors today.
Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau told reporters on Thursday morning that police had already removed some blockages, including in front of bus terminals in the Paris region. He warned that he expects up to 8,000 “troublemakers trying to sow the disorder” and confront the police.
About 80,000 police and guards will be mobilized throughout the day. Shock units, drones and armored vehicles will be available.
More than 20 people have been arrested in different places, police said.
The plans to carry Bayeux’s 70-meter long tapestry, a masterpiece whose sewing tells the story of the Norman invasion in 1066, were postponed due to the strike, the local City Hall said. The tapestry will be borrowed to the United Kingdom.
