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PARIS: France was bracing on Thursday for a day of nationwide disruption in a show of anger over President Emmanuel Macron’s budget policies, with unions vowing mass protests, public transport set to be paralyzed in places due to strikes and officials warning of possible disturbances by extremist elements.
Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu, Macron’s seventh head of government, took office last week, vowing a break from the past against the background of an ongoing political crisis.
But the appointment of the former defense minister has failed to assuage the anger of unions and the left.
They remain incensed about the draft €44 billion ($52 billion) cost-saving budget of his predecessor Francois Bayrou, despite Lecornu’s pledges to abolish both the life-long privileges of prime ministers and a widely detested plan to scrap two public holidays.
Strike action on Thursday will see around a third of teachers walk out, nine out of 10 pharmacies shuttered and severe disruption on the Paris Metro, where only the three driverless automated lines will work normally.
It is expected to be the most widely followed day of union-led protests and strikes since the months-long mobilization in early 2023 against Macron’s controversial pension reform, which the government eventually rammed through parliament without a vote.
“We feel that our colleagues were not fooled by the appointment of Sebastien Lecornu,” which “did not calm the anger,” said Sophie Venetitay, general secretary of Snes-FSU, the leading union for middle and high school teachers.
While the day of protest represents an early test of crisis management for Lecornu, anger is crystallizing against Macron, who has just one-and-a-half years left in power and is enduring his worst-ever popularity levels.
The “obstacle” to revoking the pension reform – still vehemently opposed by the unions – lies “in the Elysee Palace,” said the head of the CGT union Sophie Binet.
‘Very, very strong’ mobilization
Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau said he expected a “very, very strong” mobilization on Thursday, describing it as a “hybrid day,” with the risk of sabotage actions from ultra-left groups from early morning and the mass sanctioned protests in the day.
“We will respond with massive resources and clear orders,” he told BFM-TV, saying more than 80,000 police officers and gendarmes would be deployed, backed by drones, armored vehicles and water cannons.
Between 600,000 and 900,000 people are expected to take to the streets nationwide, according to an interior ministry estimate.
Paris Police Chief Laurent Nunez said on Wednesday that he was “very concerned” about the risk that rioters intent on provoking fights and damage would infiltrate the union march in Paris, urging shops in the center to close for the day and protect their storefronts.
A more informal day of action held on September 10, despite isolated disruption, did not succeed however on its self-declared aim to “block everything.”
Most high-speed trains in France are still expected to run on Thursday while disruption to airlines should be minimal after air-traffic controllers postponed a strike but warned of a three-day action in early October.

WASHINGTON: A Black college student was found dead hanging from a tree on a university campus in Mississippi this week, prompting calls from civil rights advocates for a thorough investigation, as authorities say there was no evidence of foul play.
Demartravion “Trey” Reed, 21, was found dead early on Monday near the pickleball courts on Delta State University’s campus in Cleveland, Mississippi, according to campus police.
Campus police chief Michael Peeler called the death an “isolated incident” and said there was no active threat to students or faculty.
The university said multiple law enforcement agencies were assisting in the probe into the death. The FBI said in a statement that it was prepared to investigate, “if, during the course of the local investigation, information comes to light of a potential federal violation.”
The local coroner’s office said there was no evidence to suggest that Reed was physically attacked or assaulted before his death and that further information would be shared “once the autopsy results are finalized.”
Reed’s body was sent to the Mississippi State Crime Lab for an official autopsy report.
While investigators have said they found no evidence of foul play, Reed’s death prompted calls for transparency among advocates, who noted Mississippi’s history of lynching and racially motivated violence in the 19th and 20th centuries.
Mississippi Democratic US Representative Bennie Thompson called for a federal probe into Reed’s death.
“We must leave no stone unturned in the search for answers. While the details of this case are still emerging, we cannot ignore Mississippi’s painful history of lynching and racial violence against African Americans,” the lawmaker said in a statement.
Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who has handled some of the highest profile police killings of Black Americans, has been retained by Reed’s family. Crump said on X the family “cannot accept vague conclusions when so many questions remain.”
“I stand with this family, and I will lead a team of civil rights leaders and organizations in pursuing transparency and answers for Trey’s family,” Crump said. The family is seeking an independent autopsy.
Delta State University’s enrollment last year stood at over 2,600 students, more than 40 percent of whom were Black.