French union calls for anti-budget protests from November 6
First action would be in support of retirees
Several measures in the draft budget impact pensioners
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France’s CGT union has called for a ‘mobilisation’ in protest of the planned 2026 budget, starting from November 6 and potentially covering several days.
“This budget is very dangerous. It absolutely must be fundamentally amended,” said union leader Sophie Binet to France2 this morning.
A particular focus of the action is on the fate of retirees, with several measures in the current draft of the budget set to affect pensions.
This includes a freeze on pension payouts at 2025 levels and replacing the 10% income tax allowance for pensioners with a flat €2,000 reduction.
“The mobilisation will begin on November 6, with retirees organising a day of action [as the budget] is particularly harsh” against this group, Ms Binet said.
Alongside the changes above, and a planned de-indexing of pensions from 2027 onwards, retirees “will be the first victims of this explosion in healthcare costs, because they are the ones who need treatment the most,” she added.
“If we add up these measures, we see that retirees are in the crosshairs. All this because we refuse to tax the richest and confront multinationals and rentiers.”
After surviving two votes of no confidence (one only narrowly defeated) tabled by the far-left and far-right, Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu is hoping open debates on the budget by MPs will result in a bill agreed upon by the majority of the chamber.
How disruptive will protests be?
Currently, none of the other major unions that make up France’s intersyndicale have called for similar protests.
The group last called for a combined day of action on October 2.
When asked about the possibility of unions banding together once more, Ms Binet said “these are issues that need to be debated and worked on over time… what is certain is that for the CGT, the time has come to mobilise.”
It is likely that strikes by workers in several sectors will combine with protests led by the union, leading to disruption in several sectors.
These may take place alongside protests on November 6 and other dates, or be held at separate times to prolong any disruption.
These strike motions will be filed closer to the time, with public health and transport sectors likely to face the brunt of any action.
