French Unions Strike Over Austerity Fears as Budget Looms

French unions staged strikes across multiple sectors on Tuesday, protesting issues ranging from pay rates to rising fuel prices, as the government prepares to present a budget proposal. The power union throttled electricity supply and halted gas transit, while other workers joined marches.

The budget exercise is particularly delicate: parties in the divided parliament are hardening their positions ahead of the 2027 election. French growth is expected to slow by more than previously forecast this year, pushing the deficit above 5% of gross domestic product and missing government targets. The government, which has been battling to cut the deficit for years, has said reining in spending will be a collective effort — spurring union fears of austerity measures.

In Paris, the police union marched to demand higher pay and benefits alongside right-wing politicians, with officers demonstrating on their breaks as they are barred from striking. "Our only choice is to show strength in the streets," said Loic Travers, deputy secretary general of the Alliance Police Union.

In the south, fishermen blocked a fuel depot to protest rising fuel costs. "We cannot keep asking for more from the people who produce, who transport, who feed and who make the country run, all while leaving them less and less to live with," said Philippe Maurizot, mayor of Fos-sur-Mer, where the fishermen were demonstrating, in a statement.

LNG deliveries sharply reduced in Dunkirk

Energy sector workers protesting proposed changes to employee electricity discounts cut delivery capacity at France's biggest liquefied natural gas terminal, Dunkirk LNG, to 4 gigawatt hours per day, data from its operator Fluxys showed. The disruption is likely to affect sendout from the terminal, which serves markets outside France, by an estimated 476 GWh a day, though no cargoes had been scheduled to arrive at Dunkirk and none were redirected, LSEG analyst Dzmitry Dauhalevich said. Some of this volume might be offset by increasing sendout from terminals in the Netherlands, Belgium and the Montoir terminal, he added.

Three other LNG terminals in the country — two at Fos-sur-Mer and one in Montoir in western France — were operating as normal, operator Elengy said. France is one of Europe's largest exporters of gas to the rest of the continent, which is scrambling to refill its gas storage before winter, with Germany and other gas-reliant countries lagging European Union storage targets.

Largest electricity sector walkout in decades

EDF said 59% of its workforce in the electricity and gas industries union — about 38,000 people — took part in the strike action by midday on Tuesday. The turnout is the highest in decades, eclipsing the numbers on strike in 2011 when changes to the subsidy were also being considered. The strike curbed electricity output at eight nuclear reactors and a French gas plant, but did not affect security of supply or France's status as a net electricity exporter.