Nationwide strike disrupts many industries

French unions started a nationwide strike on Tuesday to demand higher wages for workers amid high inflation, one of the toughest challenges facing President Emmanuel Macron since his re-election in May.

 

The strike, which has affected several key industries including railways and energy, is the spread of a weeks-long strike in the refining industry. Several refineries of Total and Exxon Mobil in France were recently forced to close due to strikes, leaving nearly a third of the country’s gas stations without fuel.

 

Since last week, the French government has ordered some refinery workers to return to work in an attempt to restore fuel supplies. Some argue that the government’s approach jeopardizes workers’ right to strike. Union leaders hope the government’s decision will inspire more workers to strike in protest.

 

Last week, Total reached a deal with the two unions, agreeing to offer a 7% pay rise as well as bonuses. Still, the French General Trade Union (CGT), which spearheaded the strike, called for a continuation of the strike, which demanded a 10 percent pay rise because of soaring inflation and the company’s huge profits.

Strikes spread to key industries

The strike has spread to other parts of the energy industry, and nuclear giant EDF (EDF) has also been affected, with the company’s routine maintenance work, which is crucial to a stable supply of electricity in Europe, being delayed.

The strikes have affected operations at 10 of the country’s nuclear power plants, further delays in maintenance of 13 reactors, and a total reduction of 2.2 gigawatts (2.2 million kilowatts) in French power generation capacity, a representative of FNME-CGT, the largest union in the French energy industry, said on Monday. 

 

In terms of public transport, major disruptions to local transport are expected, including Eurostar, train and suburban trains, as well as the Paris Metro. Eurostar said it had cancelled some trains between London and Paris because of the strike.

 

The civil servants union also called on workers to join Tuesday’s strike, which could disrupt schools and other public facilities.

The CGT also asked port workers to strike for several hours.

 

Demonstrations will take place across France, with demonstrations in Paris starting at 12:00 GMT (7:00 pm Beijing time) on Tuesday.

 

Thousands took to the streets of Paris on Sunday to protest soaring prices. The leader of the far-left party, Jean-Luc Melenchon, took to the streets alongside this year’s Nobel Prize winner Annie Ernaux. Melenchon called for a general strike on Tuesday.

 

Macron faces serious challenges

The nationwide strike has increased pressure on Macron to take further steps to ease the impact of soaring inflation.

 

This is the latest challenge facing Macron. Macron’s camp lost its absolute majority in the National Assembly in June’s election. Macron’s government appears to be struggling to get enough support to push through next year’s budget bill, prompting it to bypass a parliamentary vote and resort to a contentious fast-track process.

 

A poll released recently showed that 82% of respondents believed Macron was not doing enough to deal with soaring prices.

 

The current risk for Macron is that discontent will continue to spread to more industries and more people may join the strike, leading to a chain of social shutdowns.