It will be powerful. The crisis is deep and tensions are extremely high, Dominique Corona, deputy secretary general of UNSA, told Le Monde.
Unions are expecting a turnout similar to that of the 2023 pension reform protests, when more than a million people took part.
After weeks of student protests, public- and private-sector education unions are calling for a general strike. Unions representing railway workers, public hospital staff and postal workers are also taking part, and large parts of the country are expected to come to a standstill. Former and new “yellow vests” are also joining the growing social movement.
Tens of thousands of police officers
The unions are demanding general wage increases, a higher minimum wage and better study conditions for young people.
We want to amplify the voices of working people who struggle to earn a decent living from their work, Marylise Léon, general secretary of the largest union, CFDT, told Le Monde.
Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez announced on Wednesday that 70,000 police officers and security personnel would be deployed across the country. He promised an “extremely forceful response” to acts of violence or unrest.
The student protests have been largely peaceful, but looting and violence have also followed the demonstrations. Police have been criticized for their heavy-handed response, and internal police investigations have been launched into allegations of brutality against young protesters.
Right to demonstrate
During the demonstrations on the last weekend of October, the authorities banned the planned route in Paris at the last minute and replaced it with one outside the city center, sparking anger.
We are seeing a cumulative effect: public sympathy for the movement of high school and university students is not waning, and people are questioning restrictions on freedoms, especially bans on demonstrations, says Fabrice Fort of the CGT union.
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