Overview

• Eight unions issued an ultimatum giving the prime minister until 24 September to address their joint demands or face a fresh nationwide strike day.
• Sébastien Lecornu said he will receive union leaders again in the coming days, with their calls for greater social and tax justice described as central to his consultations.
• The intersyndicale demands include scrapping the budget plan’s doubling of medical co‑payments, the “année blanche,” 3,000 civil‑service cuts, unemployment‑insurance changes, and any challenge to May 1 as a paid holiday.
• Authorities counted more than 500,000 demonstrators nationwide versus over 1 million claimed by the CGT, following significant disruptions in schools, transport and public services.
• Operational and security tallies included roughly one in six teachers on strike, about 4,000 MW of EDF load reductions, some 18,000 pharmacies closed, 309 arrests and 134 people placed in custody.