France: The protests are now to be followed by strikes

One could almost call it a "classic" protest event, because it is the major French unions that have called for strikes and demonstrations today.

The subject area is wide: it should be about salaries, the preservation of the public service, employment and tax fairness. The railway workers' unions have also called on workers to go on strike. It is questionable to what extent this will be a further step towards a lasting protest movement.

The left-wing CGT union, for example, is calling for the statutory minimum wage to be increased by ten percent: to just over 2,000 euros gross. This is the only way purchasing power can grow - and the economy can get back on track, argues Sophie Binet on France 2.

She is the General Secretary of the CGT. "There has to be a policy change: away from supply-side economic policy, which costs us a lot of money - and also sacrifices jobs and employees," says Binet. "We need demand-oriented policies, we need to raise salaries to boost domestic consumption. Spain did it that way: and there the economy is growing while debts are falling."

Strikes today in key sectors

Education, transport, air traffic control and hospitals: employees in these sectors want to stop working today. Railway companies are expecting disruptions in regional traffic around Paris as well as “minor disruptions” in long-distance traffic.

According to Interior Minister Lauren Nuñez, 70,000 police and gendarmes will be deployed across the country, including special police units. This corresponds to the security presence of the last two weekends. "We will of course protect shops and public buildings. Of course, the initial situation is a little different: there are calls for protest from unions - so a more classic scenario," says Nuñez. "But there is an intention to let the situation get out of hand. If that happens, we will react with the utmost determination."

Pupils and students want to join

The day of action is another part of the wave of protests that has been rolling through the country for almost two months. Pupils and students are dissatisfied with the government's response to their demands and want to join the union demonstrations. Likewise the coordination of the yellow vests. It is precisely this “convergence”, this unification of the protests, that is the goal, emphasizes Sophie Binet from the CGT.

For many, in addition to wages, public service or tax fairness, it is also about something fundamental: namely the right to demonstrate. Since the escalation of violence on October 17th, demonstrations in many places have only been allowed on the outskirts of the city and not in the centers. For Sophie Binet from the CGT, this is an attack on the freedom to demonstrate: "There has never been anything like this before: banning demonstrations in city centers. That is impossible, demonstrations are there to be visible! We will not hide and outsource this to the périphérique, the ring highway."

Strike with protests as a new yardstick

In Paris, the unions wanted to move from the Place de la Bastille to the Place de la Concorde, near the National Assembly and the Élysée Palace. The police prefecture has banned this course and instead suggested an alternative route - which also leads through the city center.

The unions had lodged a legal complaint against the changed route. A Paris administrative court rejected this complaint late on Wednesday evening. As justification, the court referred to an “extremely tense social situation” and the unrest on October 17th. In addition, the change to the route was “neither inappropriate nor disproportionate”.

Today's participation - especially among employees - is likely to be a new indicator of the intensity of the social protests. And above all for their duration.