torsdag 5 november 2026
French general strike – hundreds of thousands expected to participate
Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to take to the streets across France today to demand wage increases and better conditions for students. Trade unions have called for a general strike, and students are also joining this broad social movement.
"It’s going to be significant. The crisis is deep, and tensions are extremely high," Dominique Corona, deputy general secretary of the union UNSA, told *Le Monde*.
The unions anticipate a level of participation comparable to the protests against pension reform in 2023, which drew over a million people.
Following weeks of student protests, unions representing the public and private education sectors have called for a general strike. Unions representing railway workers, public hospital staff, and postal services are also participating—and large parts of the country are expected to come to a standstill. Furthermore, both original and new "Yellow Vests" are joining this growing social movement.
Tens of thousands of police officers
The unions are demanding across-the-board wage increases, a rise in the minimum wage, and better conditions for young people in education. “We want to amplify the voices of those in the workforce—people who are struggling to earn a decent living from their jobs,” Marylise Léon, General Secretary of the largest trade union, the CFDT, told *Le Monde*.
On Wednesday, Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez announced that 70,000 police officers and security personnel would be deployed across the country. He promised an “extremely forceful response” to any acts of violence or unrest.
While the student protests have largely remained peaceful, instances of looting and violence have also occurred in the wake of the demonstrations. The police have faced criticism for heavy-handed tactics, and internal investigations have been launched following allegations of brutality against young protesters.
Right to Demonstrate
During the demonstrations on the last weekend of October, authorities issued a last-minute ban on the route protesters had planned to take through Paris, redirecting them instead to a route outside the city center—a move that sparked anger.
“We are seeing a cumulative effect: public sympathy for the movement among high school and university students remains strong, and people are questioning the curtailment of civil liberties—specifically the banning of demonstrations,” says Fabrice Fort of the CGT trade union.
Why protests in France are growing: “An intense controversy”
The social protest movement in France continues to grow. Trade unions, students, and the Yellow Vests are intensifying pressure on the government, fueled by an anger that shows no signs of subsiding.
“The approaching election is the catalyst that has caused this to grow to such a scale,” says political scientist Marie Demker.
It began with students demanding more resources for schools, alongside the Yellow Vests’ persistent protests against the high cost of living. Ahead of a general strike on November 5, an alliance of trade unions has also called for widespread action across the country—focusing on “wages, public services, employment, and industry,” according to French media reports.
“The anger is immense. The country’s situation is fragile. We must address urgent social and environmental issues without delay,” the alliance stated.
Marie Demker, a professor of political science at the University of Gothenburg, believes that the fact that France has become a powder keg of protest is partly due to next year’s presidential election.
“Various groups are looking to strengthen their positions ahead of the election,” she says.
Frustration is growing
In the short term, the situation can also be traced back to the snap election called by President Emmanuel Macron in 2024, after the far-right party National Rally received over 30 percent of the vote in the European Parliament elections, says Marie Demker. Since then, the situation has been particularly deadlocked.
“We talk about ‘red lines’ in Sweden, but here, the level of contention has been immense,” she says.
The situation is exacerbated by France’s extremely strained economy, with a national debt amounting to 119 percent of GDP. Consequently, there is minimal room for reform, even as parts of the welfare infrastructure are under severe pressure. Parliament is currently negotiating major cuts for next year’s budget.
“It is impossible to push through any kind of change because the parliament lacks a clear majority for any particular direction. This causes frustration among citizens to grow ever greater. People see their purchasing power being eroded and welfare issues left unaddressed.”
A class-based society
Yet, France remains one of the European countries that spends the most on welfare relative to the size of its economy. However, there are significant gaps in the system, Marie Demker points out. Transport unions, for instance—which are now calling for strikes—argue that the cuts are hitting hard, resulting in “diminished social status and stagnant wages.”
According to Demker, France remains a distinctly class-based society.
“The economic and social inequality is enormous,” she says.
She does not believe that Macron will succeed in calming the waves of protest through minor reforms. However, she predicts that the looting will eventually subside—partly because the police are better prepared, but also because the violence primarily benefits the far-right.
“Even Jean-Luc Mélenchon, who leads the far-left, has called for calm.”
Hongkongaktivist straffas med ytterligare tio år
Activist Joshua Wong, a prominent figure in Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement, has been sentenced to an additional ten years in prison, the court announced on Thursday.
Wong was convicted of colluding with foreign forces. He is already serving a multi-year prison sentence for subversion and was due to be released next year.
According to the charges, he urged foreign countries, individuals, or institutions in 2020 to “impose sanctions or blockades” against Hong Kong and China. He pleaded guilty in September of this year—a move that, according to the AP, often results in a more lenient sentence.
The case has drawn sharp criticism from human rights organizations, which argue that it is intended to keep Wong behind bars for as long as possible.
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