The embattled French President Emmanuelle Macron is facing two overlapping massive protest movements and a plummeting approval rating of less than 20%.

A series of mass protests has gripped France ahead of the French government’s sinister plans to slash some €56 billion from its social spending. 

Firefighters, healthcare workers, transport staff and other civil servants took part in a nationwide strike on Tuesday, backed by all of the country’s major public-sector unions.

170 Demonstrations

More than 170 marches were planned across France, with demonstrators blocking roads and scuffling with police in Paris, and firefighters setting flares alight atop the iconic July Column at the Place de la Bastille.

The column was built to commemorate the overthrow of King Charles X in 1830. French students also clashed with police outside schools across the country.

Cost of Living Crisis

The protesters’ demands are familiar: higher wages, better working conditions, and more funding for public services.

However, public sector employees have accused President Emmanuel Macron’s government of underfunding and dismantling their departments for years.

They argue that their situation has recently been made unbearable by record fuel prices and wages that have failed to keep pace with inflation.

Inflation 24 per cent

France has raised public sector pay by 5% since Macron took power in 2017, while cumulative inflation has risen 24% in the same time period.

LEFT: WITNESS TO HISTORY. Click the picture for details.

The SNUipp-FSU teachers’ union has claimed that 40% of primary school teachers are on strike, while one in four firefighters have walked off the job, according to government estimates.

A Black Day for France

France’s CGT union described the day’s strikes as a ‘black day,’ intended to ‘truly express our anger.’

French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu is set to unveil €54 billion ($62 billion) worth of cutbacks in his 2027 budget on Thursday.

Macron, who has served two terms and cannot contest April’s election, is currently polling at less than 18% approval, according to an Ifop poll.

Although the French president has seen worse approval numbers in other polls, 18% is an historic low in an Ifop survey.

THANKS FOR SHARING WITH FRIENDS AND SOCIAL MEDIA