Transport, schools, and hospitals disrupted as protests spread across France
Hundreds of thousands across France joined strikes and protests on 18 September 2025, disrupting transport, health care, education, and pharmacies. Unions demand changes to budget cuts, wages, pensions, and public services. The unrest, marked by arrests and clashes, is the first major test for new Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu.
France was paralysed on Thursday, 18 September 2025, as hundreds of thousands of workers staged strikes and demonstrations against government budget cuts. The action, organised by major trade unions, challenged both President Emmanuel Macron and newly appointed Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu.
The walkouts disrupted essential services nationwide. Train, bus, and tram drivers suspended operations, while hospital staff and pharmacists joined in, causing widespread closures of pharmacies. Teachers, canteen workers, and school monitors also stopped work, while students blockaded schools in Paris, Amiens, and Le Havre.
According to the French Interior Ministry, between 600,000 and 900,000 people participated across the country. More than 250 demonstrations were recorded in cities including Paris, Marseille, Nantes, Lyon, and Montpellier.
While most marches were peaceful, tensions flared on the sidelines. Police deployed teargas in Nantes following clashes, and in Lyon, three people were reported injured. By mid-afternoon, authorities had made around 140 arrests nationwide.
Union leaders sharply criticised the government’s fiscal stance. Sophie Binet, General Secretary of the CGT union, described the policies as “brutal” and “unfair,” vowing continued mobilisation until demands were met. “The budget will be decided in the streets,” she declared.
The protests pose a significant challenge for Prime Minister Lecornu, who was installed after parliament ousted François Bayrou. His government faces pressure to reduce the national deficit, which last year nearly doubled the European Union’s 3% threshold, while also addressing workers’ concerns over wages, pensions, and public services.
President Macron has also become a central target of public frustration. Jean-Luc Mélenchon, leader of La France Insoumise, told demonstrators in Marseille: “The president is the source of chaos, and everything that has happened recently is the result of his actions.”
Unions signalled that Thursday’s mobilisation was only the beginning. With fiscal negotiations ongoing in parliament, further protests and strikes appear likely in the coming weeks, as workers seek to influence the government’s budgetary direction.
