Overview

• Teachers, transport workers, pharmacists and hospital staff joined a nationwide strike, with authorities projecting roughly 600,000–800,000 participants.
• The government mobilised about 80,000 police and gendarmes, and early scuffles and blockades were reported in Paris and other cities.
• Schools and regional trains were heavily disrupted, Paris Metro services were curtailed, roughly nine in ten pharmacies shut, and EDF reduced nuclear output by 1.1 gigawatts.
• Unions demanded the scrapping of planned savings and reversal of pension changes, alongside higher taxes on the wealthy and more investment in public services.
• New Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu met Socialist leaders over the 2026 budget as they sought major concessions and warned they could help topple the government if talks fail.