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France’s Unions Mount Nationwide Strike Over 2026 Cuts as Police Deploy En Masse

Bayrou’s exit left Sébastien Lecornu to redraw the budget under heavy union pressure.

Overview

  • Authorities counted roughly 500,000 participants nationwide, while the CGT claimed more than one million demonstrators.
  • The government deployed more than 80,000 police and gendarmes with drones and armored vehicles to secure hundreds of marches and blockades.
  • At least 181 people were detained by late day, with mostly peaceful marches punctuated by tear gas in cities including Paris, Nantes and Rennes.
  • Transport, schools and services were heavily disrupted, with reduced metro and regional trains, widespread school closures and many pharmacies shut.
  • In Martinique, about 150,000 residents temporarily lost water service after valves were deliberately closed in what authorities described as sabotage.