France Begins Nationwide Strike Amid Cost of Living Crisis

Transit workers, left-wing politicians and students joined a walkout today on a nationwide strike.

President Emmanuel Macron is in deep trouble. The wave of strikes is battering Macron’s authority. The French government is also embattled in Parliament.

Regional train traffic in France was cut by about half on Tuesday as several unions called a nationwide strike, seeking to capitalise on anger with decades-high inflation to expand a weeks-long industrial action at oil refineries to other sectors. 

Beyond transport workers, unions hope to bring out staff in sectors such as the food industry and healthcare.

The CGT union notably has called for continued walkouts into a fourth week at TotalEnergies, despite the oil company reaching a deal including a 7 percent increase and a bonus on Friday with other unions. The CGT is demanding a 10 percent pay rise, citing inflation and the firm’s huge profits.

Eurostar said it was cancelling some trains between London and Paris because of the strike.

Only 39% of the public backed Tuesday's call for a nationwide strike, while 49% opposed it, and growing numbers opposed the strike by oil refinery workers.

The refinery workers' strike has become one of President Emmanuel Macron's stiffest challenges since his re-election in May.

Just one in two trains were running Tuesday in the southern region rail network, causing delays during morning rush hour. 

Similar protests have erupted around Europe in recent months as people complain about the impact of inflation, causing disruptions like canceled flights and trains.

Thousands protested in Prague twice last month partly about high energy prices, airline workers have gone on strike in places like Germany and Sweden for higher pay as inflation rises, and everyone from nurses to rail employees in the United Kingdom have walked off the job to demand their wages keep pace with the rising cost of living.

Long lines of cars have been seen for weeks across France as drivers waited – sometimes for hours – to fill up.

Many gas stations have temporarily closed while awaiting deliveries. 

Inflation has risen around the world as economies rebounded from the Covid-19 pandemic and then got worse as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine sent food and fuel prices soaring.