Public transport walkouts, teacher strikes and political protests – normal service looks set to resume in France after an Olympic summer of general content.

The country has been braced for political turmoil after July’s snap parliamentary elections. A temporary truce during the Olympic Games ended this week, after President Emmanuel Macron met the leaders of political parties to discuss the make-up of a new permanent government, after a summer under a caretaker cabinet. 

Meanwhile, a number of strikes are ongoing, or have been called for the first few weeks of September as the country heads back to work.

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Here’s where – and when – you can expect some disruption in France in the coming weeks.

City transport strikes

Public transport workers in Nancy and Nantes are planning separate walkouts on Monday, September 2nd – the day children head back to school following the summer break. 

Paris public transport

RATP employees have worked under a strike notice – allowing walkouts at short notice – that started back in February and will run until at least Saturday, September 9th. The strike is prompted by demands for better pay conditions. 

Political protest

Left-wing political party La France Insoumise (LFI) has issued a call for protests on Saturday, September 7th, after President Emmanuel Macron slammed the door on the hopes of left-wing prime ministerial candidate Lucie Castets.

Following two days of meetings with political leaders, Macron refused to appoint a New Popular Front government in the name of ‘institutional stability’ on Monday, prompting the LFI’s Manuel Bompard to accuse him of, “an unacceptable anti-democratic coup”, and calling for “marches for respect for democracy”.

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It has added its voice to a call by the Student Union and the High School Union (USL) for a “demonstration against the autocracy of Emmanuel Macron” and urges political, union and associative forces “attached to the defence of democracy” to join the protests. There is no news, yet, on where any protests may take place.

Teachers

Nursery and primary school teachers are set to strike on Tuesday, September 10th, in protest against assessments for children, increasing class sizes, and working conditions. The strike could lead to major disruptions in schools, but parents should be informed of any class closures in advance.

Security Guards

Security guards have gone on strike several times during the Olympic Games period, with walkouts expected to continue into September – notably on the 1st, 8th, 15th and 22nd of the month – in an ongoing dispute over pay and conditions.

Civil Servants

In April, the CGT filed notice of strike action across the three branches of the civil service during the Olympic and Paralympic Games, demanding permanent recruitment and salary compensation for the professional constraints generated by the Games.

This notice is set to run until September 15th – but did not have the support of other civil service unions during the Games’ period.

Pension protests

The CGT has unveiled plans for a general ‘mobilisation’ at the end of September in continuing protests against pension reform and the cost of living. There’s no confirmed date yet – and any protests could end up taking place in early October rather than September.

Medical biologists

Unions representing medical biologists have called for strikes from September 20th to 23rd. They have also called for medical analysis laboratories to close for those three days, in protest against a “drastic reduction (of nearly 10 percent) in the price of procedures”.