Why is France seeing protests now? In Right-Left tiff, wage cut fear grips the streets
Stir not entirely dissimilar to that in Nepal, where groups of young people with no clear leader held massive protests; the immediate reasons differ, though
A fractured polity marked by a rise of extreme right and left wings has led to widespread protests, even arson, in France, which got its third prime minister in a year on Wednesday. President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist regime now has Sebastien Lecornu as his PM, who has a budget to pass by somehow getting support either from the combative right wing or raging leftists.
This is not entirely dissimilar to the situation in Nepal, where groups of young men and women with no clear leader held massive protests earlier this week, demanding political stability among other things. The immediate reasons differ, though.
Also read | Gen-Z anger in India's neighbourhood brims over: Nepal follows Bangladesh, Sri Lanka
But why has such unrest gripped France?
In France, while the right wing has the most numbers in Parliament, leading the charge on the streets is a grassroots movement called “Bloquons Tout”, or “Let’s Block Everything".
The last PM, Francois Bayrou, was ousted in a no-confidence vote called by MPs from both extremes.
Calls for Macron's resignation are now gaining ground too.
The protests have disrupted schools, trains, airline and factories. Labour unions plan to join in with nationwide strikes on September 18 over budget cuts that they believe will cut into social welfare.
Also read | Why Nepal's ‘nepo kids’ infuriated Gen Z, triggered firestorm of protests that left over 20 dead
The frustrations have their origins in the unstable political scenario, in which no party has clear majority, and no consistent coalition has emerged in a deeply polarised country.
Macron called a snap election in 2024 as he thought it would give him a clearer centrist mandate. He got enough to stay in power with outside support from other parties' MPs.
That, when he was sure of some balance as the right wing has been rising fast, rallying people against immigration with allegedly racist rhetoric.
A polarised polity in France
But the parliament is now cut into a clear set of three: the right-wing National Rally, which is the single largest party in the Lower House but not enough to form its own government; a left-wing bloc that's highly active in protests; and a weakened centre led by Macron that constantly needs issue-based support from the others.
Macron has been managing somehow since 2017, now appointing long-time associate Sebastien Lecornu who is not just the third PM in a year but the fifth in two years and the seventh since Macron came to power. Lecornu, 39, is the only minister to have stayed in the cabinet since Macron became president eight years ago.
But MPs from across the political spectrum simply want new elections. “We’re facing the same problem as last year, where rival parties show little willingness for concessions,” Gesine Weber, a Paris-based research analyst told news agencies.
‘Slap in the face of democracy’
The left-wing Socialist party said none of its lawmakers will back Macron’s policies now. “This (another new PM's appointment) is a slap in the face for parliament,” its leader Philippe Brun said on TV. “This is a slap in the face for voters.”
There might be concession for now from the other extreme, analysts say. The National Rally’s Marine Le Pen, a far-right leader who ran for the presidency in 2012, 2017 and 2022, posted online on Tuesday that this is Macron's “last shot”.
New PM Lecornu is a former member of the centre-right Republicans, and among the vocal supporters of Macron’s efforts to flex France’s military muscle. He backs increasing the military spend and activelyprotecting Ukraine in the war by Russia. These agenda items do tick some of the right-wing boxes.
Lecornu is, in fact, known to have cordial relations with figures on the far right, including Le Pen.
“We will judge the new prime minister — without any illusions — on his actions, his policies for France’s budget, and whether they meet our red lines,” Jordan Bardella from the National Rally wrote.
But hard-left France Unbowed (LFI) party has already announced a no-confidence motion.
‘Wage cut’ charges and scale of stir
The new PM posted on X that his government would work for “political and institutional stability”. The demonstrations, meanwhile, are growing.
The government reportedly plans to cut spending by 44 billion euros ($52 billion) to tackle national debt. Opponents say this will mean cutting salaries and pensions while sparing those who are wealthy.
"None of this is OK," Chloe, a 25-year-old student demonstrating in the southern city of Toulouse, told AFP, “The working class suffers the most. There could be a better way.”
What makes the situation extra tricky is that the protests do not have clear leaders. This is similar to a previous anti-government movement by a group called the ‘Yellow Vests’ in 2018 during Macron's first term — and similar to the recent situations in Nepal, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka.
As of Wednesday, the street situation in Frace was thus:
- About 80,000 police personnel have been deployed nationwide. High-speed trains and the metro in Paris was fine, but other rail and flight schedules were disrupted.
- Protesters in and around Paris built barricades from dustbins and threw garbage at the police.
- In Lyon, protesters blocked a main road and set bins on fire. In Nantes, police used tear gas to disperse protesters, AFP reported.
- Around 200 arrests have been made, while the government warns demonstrators of "zero tolerance" for violence.
Paris police chief Laurent Nunez said he suspected the "radical left" was running the protests, lacking support from "civil society".
The protest is online in a major way, said Cedric Brun, a 46-year-old auto worker and union leader Valenciennes, who added, “I thought there'd be more of us (on the streets)… It's unfortunate that there are more revolutionaries on Facebook than in real life.”
(with inputs from AFP, Bloomberg)
