French protests draw 575,000 amid parliament budget impasse
The office of Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu has announced he will call labor unions to a conference to present responses to their demands.
French protests over rising living costs continued unabated on Thursday, intensifying pressure on the government as it grappled to secure passage of a budget through parliament. The Interior Ministry estimated that approximately 575,000 individuals participated in 193 demonstrations held across the nation, marking the highest turnout since protests erupted in September.
Despite the scale of the demonstrations, authorities reported they were largely peaceful, with only minor incidents in major cities such as Rennes, Marseille, Nantes, Bordeaux, and Orleans. However, some instances of vandalism did occur, including a car being set ablaze in Lyon and a school burning down near Toulouse. The number of public sector workers striking mirrored the level seen in a strike on September 29, representing nearly 10% of the state's direct workforce.
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