It began with students’ demands for more resources for schools and the Yellow Vests’ persistent protests against the high cost of living. Ahead of the general strike on November 5, a trade union alliance has also called for a nationwide struggle “for wages, public services, employment and industry,” French media report (https://www.lefigaro.fr/social/greve-intersyndicale-du-5-novembre-transports-education-sante-quels-sont-les-secteurs-mobilises-20261025).
“The anger is enormous. The country’s situation is fragile. We must address urgent social and environmental issues without delay,” the alliance says in a statement.
The fact that France has become a powder keg of protests is partly due to next year’s presidential election, says Marie Demker, professor of political science at the University of Gothenburg.
People want to advance their positions in various ways before the election, she says.
Frustration is growing
The situation can also be traced in the short term to the new elections that President Emmanuel Macron called in 2024, after the far-right National Rally party received more than 30 percent of the vote in the European Parliament elections, says Marie Demker. Since then, the situation has been particularly deadlocked.
We talk about red lines in Sweden, but here there has been incredible polemic, she says.
The situation is made worse by the fact that France has an extremely strained economy, with national debt at 119 percent of GDP. The scope for reforms is therefore minimal, while parts of the welfare infrastructure are under severe strain. Parliament is now negotiating major cuts to next year’s budget.
It is not possible to get any kind of change through because parliament does not have a clear majority for a particular course. This means that frustration among citizens keeps growing. People see their purchasing power eroding and welfare problems going unaddressed.
Class society
Nevertheless, France is one of the European countries that spends the most on welfare relative to the size of its economy. But there are major gaps in the system, Marie Demker points out. The transport unions now calling for a strike, for example, say that the cuts are hitting hard, with “worsening social conditions and stagnant wages”.
France is still a distinctly class-divided society, according to Demker.
Economic and social inequality is enormous, she says.
She does not believe Macron will succeed in calming the protests with minor reforms. However, she predicts that looting will decline in the long term, partly because the police are better prepared, but also because the violence primarily benefits the far right.
Even Jean-Luc Mélenchon, who leads the far left, has called for calm.
What do you think?