PARIS — Tens of thousands of people marched on Sunday to protest rising costs of living in an increasingly tense political atmosphere marked by fears of more widespread strikes at oil refineries and nuclear power plants. Marched in Paris.
The march was planned long before the strike by a coalition of left-wing parties seeking to capitalize on the cost of living crisis and claim status as the main opposition to President Emmanuel Macron. But on Sunday, organizers signaled they were trying to build momentum from a climate of social unrest to increase pressure on Macron’s government.
“We need to be stronger,” said David Guiraud, a parliamentarian for France Amboud, the far-left party that led Sunday’s protests. He added that the government “can no longer decide on its own”.
Mr Macron is in a dangerous situation. At the same time, he faces frustration over shortages at petrol stations, as well as workers’ strikes and violent protests in the lower and more powerful House of Representatives, the National Assembly.
“We are in a special and very extraordinary cycle,” said Jean-Luc Melenchon, leader of France Amboud, who led Sunday’s protests. crisis, referring to a “great convergence” during the march.
At the heart of the problem is the rising cost of living. Already an important topic in the French presidential elections this spring, it has risen to the top of the French public’s agenda. Recent researchis far ahead of more traditional issues such as climate change, security and immigration.
While lower than elsewhere in Europe, inflation in France is above 6%, driving up prices for staples like meat and pasta. Congress passed measures to ease inflation this summer, but they haven’t fully offset soaring energy costs due to Russia’s war in Ukraine.
“Unbelievable,” said Gwenola Leroux, a 63-year-old retired literature professor who marched on Sunday. “Every time I buy basic necessities, I wonder if the price is wrong.” had a signboard.
It read, “Goodbye, water, lettuce, sausage and electricity.”
The situation has been exacerbated by strikes at a number of refineries, which have left nearly a third of all gas pumps nationwide completely or partially dry and drivers waiting in lines at stations for hours. It was a forced and sometimes chaotic scene.
Workers have been picketing for higher wages to match inflation and a bigger share of the energy giant’s burgeoning profits. But their demands have echoed far beyond refineries, prompting nuclear power plant and railroad workers alike to stop or plan work.
The left appears to be using social unrest to politically bounce back from scandals involving domestic violence and harassment by prominent lawmakers. Members of France Unbowed are trying to organize their grievances, including moving to strike sites in northern France to seek wider protests.
“You can count on us in the National Assembly to echo these fights, to make your voice heard and to be on your side,” Thomas Portes, another France Unbowed MP, said on Thursday near Le Havre. told striking workers at a TotalEnergies refinery.
Major trade unions did not participate in Sunday’s march due to strategic disagreements. Instead, they called for a general strike next Tuesday. Mélenchon repeated the call on Sunday, describing the situation as the emergence of a “new Popular Front”.
The march, which began at Place de la Nation in eastern Paris and ended at Place de la Bastille, featured all the hallmarks of a typical French leftist protest: a sea of red flags, anti-fascist slogans and booths selling revolutionary essays. .
Among the politicians leading the procession was a prominent participant. Annie Ernault, this year’s Nobel Prize winner for literature, is an outspoken leftist.
Some lawmakers said the march was meant to put pressure on the government as a high-risk week began in parliament, where Mr Macron no longer holds an absolute majority.
The government faces a potential crisis over a contested budget bill.Debate over the bill appears to have stalled, with most of the opposition vowing not to vote.Sunday evening, France Prime Minister Elisabeth Bornu said the government would “probably” use a special constitutional power to pass the bill without a vote.
But the mechanism also allows members of the opposition to hold a no-confidence vote. The risk of government collapse appears low as the center-right opposition appears reluctant to support the move, but France Unbowed lawmaker Guiraud confirmed on Sunday that the left-wing coalition would hold such a vote.
“We are ready,” he said.