Fresh round of strikes demands Macron deals with cost of living woes

A national strike has been called in France over ongoing disputes about pay for teaching and transport staff. Primary school teachers, train and bus workers and nuclear power industry workers walked out of the workplace on Thursday September 29 to demand a pay rise.

The strike is the largest walk-out since President Emmanuel Macron won re-election in April and is being seen as a test to gauge union strength. Teachers and transport workers demand that the government addresses concerns related to the cost of living crisis and sky-high energy bills by increasing pay.

Striking workers marched on the streets with posters calling on the government to increase wages in line with inflation. One in ten schools in Paris are closed on Thursday while 300 in the Marseille region are closed.

Unions are also protesting a proposed government bill to push back the retirement age from 62 to 65. Phillipe Martinez, head of the CGT union, said that it was an outrage to raise the retirement age while unemployment remains rife.

It remains unclear how Macron’s government will deal with a fresh round of strike action.