{"id":44030,"date":"2025-09-19T22:25:53","date_gmt":"2025-09-20T05:25:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=44030"},"modified":"2025-09-19T22:25:55","modified_gmt":"2025-09-20T05:25:55","slug":"macron-get-out-unions-lead-massive-anti-austerity-protests-across-france","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2025\/09\/19\/macron-get-out-unions-lead-massive-anti-austerity-protests-across-france\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Macron Get Out!\u2019 Unions Lead Massive Anti-Austerity Protests Across France"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"anti-austerity<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

At least hundreds of thousands of protesters poured into the streets across France on September 18, 2025 to protest proposed austerity measures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00a0(Photo by S\u00e9bastien Delogu\/X)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re in a situation of injustice,\u201d one protester said. \u201cWorkers can no longer feed themselves, students no longer have future prospects.\u201d<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

JESSICA CORBETT<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sep 18, 2025 (CommonDreams.org)<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Echoing demonstrations<\/a> against French President Emmanuel Macron\u2019s pension reforms two years ago, hundreds of thousands of people joined protests across France on Thursday, outraged by the government\u2019s proposed austerity measures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the CGT trade union\u2014one of several labor groups that pushed for the mass mobilization\u2014put<\/a> the count at over 1 million, French authorities, whose figures are usually much lower than unions, said<\/a> more than 500,000 demonstrated nationwide, including 55,000 in Paris.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

RECOMMENDED…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Unionists<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Hundreds Arrested in France at Anti-Austerity \u2018Block Everything\u2019 Protests<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"US<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Americans Take to the Streets for 1,000+ \u2018Workers Over Billionaires\u2019 Labor Day Rallies<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Thursday\u2019s demonstrations followed last week\u2019s \u201dBlock Everything<\/a>\u201d protests, which coincided with French Prime Minister S\u00e9bastien Lecornu\u2019s first full day in office. Macron picked Lecornu, his ally and a former defense minister, for the post after Fran\u00e7ois Bayrou lost a no-confidence vote in the National Assembly over the budget plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although \u201cLecornu quickly scrapped one of the most unpopular proposals\u2014eliminating two public holidays\u2014he has not ruled out the rest,\u201d\u00a0Euronews<\/em>\u00a0noted<\/a>\u00a0Thursday. \u201cThese include an overhaul of unemployment benefits, delinking pensions from inflation, and raising out-of-pocket medical costs.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/x.com\/AFP\/status\/1968628577311601105?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1968628577311601105%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.commondreams.org%2Fnews%2Ffrench-protests<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A protester named Alexandre told<\/a> Euronews<\/em> that \u201cright now, we have a government that doesn\u2019t listen to us and is even the opposite of what the population needs. A government that robs fellow citizens, and it\u2019s important for everyone to mobilise, for the people of France who want to be dignified and who also want to give others their dignity throughout the world.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re in a situation of injustice,\u201d he added. \u201cWorkers can no longer feed themselves, students no longer have future prospects.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hospital staff<\/a>, railway workers<\/a>, students, and teachers were among those who poured into the streets across France\u2014including major actions in cities such as Lyon, Marseille, and Paris\u2014rallying behind the message<\/a>: \u201cStrikes, Blockades, Macron Get Out!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Public Service Ministry\u00a0said<\/a>\u00a0that nearly 11% of France\u2019s 2.5 million state employees were on strike.\u00a0According to<\/a>\u00a0Le Monde<\/em>, \u201cAround 1 in 6 teachers walked out of primary and secondary schools, 9 out of 10 pharmacies were shuttered, and severe disruption occurred on the Paris metro network, where only the three driverless automated lines are working normally.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/x.com\/JLMelenchon\/status\/1968639085070729285?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1968639085070729285%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.commondreams.org%2Fnews%2Ffrench-protests<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Protesters want the government to not only kill the proposed austerity measures but also spend more on public services and impose higher taxes on the wealthy. Sophie Binet, the head of the CGT union, said<\/a> that \u201cthe anger is huge, and so is the determination. My message to Mr. Lecornu today is this: It\u2019s the streets that must decide the budget.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Multiple elected officials with La France Insoumise (LFI), a party founded by Jean-Luc M\u00e9lenchon that is now part of the Nouveau Front Populaire<\/a> alliance, shared<\/a> social media posts<\/a> about them joining the protests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe mobilization of youth continues,\u201d said Claire Lejeune, an LFI member of the National Assembly, after speaking with secondary school students in Essonne who \u201cno longer want this policy that is wrecking their future.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Citing \u201cthe dismantling of public education,\u201d \u201cwar policy,\u201d and \u201cecological inaction,\u201d Lejeune said: \u201cThey are absolutely right; in the country, no one wants Lecornu or Macron anymore. I was in support of this peaceful mobilization, alongside the unions and teachers, and faced with a completely disproportionate police setup.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/x.com\/ClaireMLejeune\/status\/1968598595025645693?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1968598595025645693%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.commondreams.org%2Fnews%2Ffrench-protests<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Approximately 80,000 police and gendarmes were deployed for the protests. Early Thursday, LFI\u2019s Cl\u00e9mence Guett\u00e9, a vice president in the National Assembly, shared<\/a> footage of officers kicking and shoving a woman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEverywhere this morning, the repression strikes and hits without distinction or restraint,\u201d she wrote. \u201cThe images reaching us are shameful. Here in Marseille. To everyone, be careful. France no longer has a government: Macron is the only one responsible.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After the 1 million estimate began circulating, Guett\u00e9 called<\/a> the mass action \u201cimmense, everywhere, impressive,\u201d and declared<\/a>: \u201cThe people are in the streets! We are going to win.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Al Jazeera<\/em> reported<\/a>: \u201cAcross the country, Palestinian flags were visible as some protesters also stood in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza<\/a> during Israel\u2019s war<\/a> on the strip. Protesters blocked the Eurolinks arms factory in Marseille, which is believed to supply equipment to Israel<\/a>, while holding a large banner that read: \u2018Shut down the genocidal factory.\u2018\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-3&features=e30%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1968388714205430159&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.commondreams.org%2Fnews%2Ffrench-protests&partner=rebelmouse&sessionId=68ec662688dca20d1165a9f362bf7a0e2c251c7c&siteScreenName=commondreams&siteUserId=14296273&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Noting the solidarity with the Palestinian people on Thursday, LFI\u2019s Sarah Legrain called for sanctions, an arms embargo, and lifting Israel\u2019s blockade of Gaza, where civilians are starving to death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Later Thursday, Legrain celebrated the massive turnout and\u00a0pledged<\/a>\u00a0that \u201cwe will keep the pressure up until Macron leaves!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

JESSICA CORBETT<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jessica Corbett is a senior editor and staff writer for Common Dreams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Full Bio ><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

At least hundreds of thousands of protesters poured into the streets across France on September 18, 2025 to protest proposed austerity measures. \u00a0(Photo by S\u00e9bastien Delogu\/X) \u201cWe\u2019re in a situation of injustice,\u201d one protester said. \u201cWorkers can no longer feed themselves, students no longer have future prospects.\u201d JESSICA CORBETT Sep… Continue reading → <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44030"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44030"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44030\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":44031,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44030\/revisions\/44031"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44030"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44030"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44030"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}