France braces for day of strikes as unions challenge new PM's budget plans

Strikes and street demonstrations called by all major trade unions to denounce budget cuts were expected Thursday across France, as new Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu talks with political opponents about curbing France's massive deficit and debt.

Unions are urging Lecornu to abandon draft budget measures proposed by his predecessor, which include social welfare freezes and austerity measures that many say will further erode the purchasing power of low-paid and middle-class workers.

In a joint statement issued before the change of prime minister last week, unions described such measures as unprecedented brutality, regretting that previous government had "chosen to make workers, those in precarious employment, retirees, and the sick pay the price.

Unions also continue to denounce President Emmanuel Macron's pension reform that raised the minimum retirement age from 62 to 64.

Outgoing Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau said Wednesday he expects a very strong mobilization in the streets. About 80,000 police and gendarmerie officers are to be deployed across the country, he said on news broadcaster BFM TV.

There is a risk that early in the morning we will see blockades, sabotage, and small groups of ultraleftists who want to cause destruction and are extremely violent, Retailleau said. Later in the day, street demonstrations are to be staged in many French cities, he added.

Disruptions are expected in multiple sectors, including public transportation, hospitals and schools.

French national rail company SNCF said a few disruptions are to be expected on high-speed trains to France and Europe, but most will run.

Regional rail lines, as well as the Paris metro and commuter trains, will be more severely impacted.

In airports, only few disruptions are anticipated as the main air traffic controllers union decided to postponed its call for a strike pending the appointment of a new Cabinet.

Last week, a day of anti-government action across France saw streets choked with smoke, barricades in flames and volleys of tear gas as protesters denounced budget cuts and political turmoil.

Although falling short of its self-declared intention of total disruption, the Block Everything campaign still managed to paralyse parts of daily life and ignite hundreds of hot spots across the country.