French unions have called a strike on September 18 against Bayrou's budget

The French trade unions have jointly organised a major mobilisation , which today announced strikes and demonstrations on 18 September against the budgets of Prime Minister François Bayrou.

The General Secretary of the French Democratic Confederation of Labour (CFDT), Marylise Leon, has read in the press the call agreed by the unions (CFDT, CGT, FO, CFE-CGC, CFTC, Unsa, Solidarios and FSU), urging workers to "mobilize massively, change things and gain progress."

"We must put an end to this' museum of fears' which is the draft budget, we must take account once and for all of thedemandsof society . We want budgetary resources that respond to the demands of challenges and public policies, measures against precariousness, measures for solidarity, investments for an ecological transition, as well as the reindustrialisation of France and measures against redundancies. "

He added that there is a need for "instruments that tax very high assets and income and dividend" and "tighten the conditions for companies to receive aid; high level social protection" and a reversal of pension reform that delays the minimum retirement age from 62 to 64 years.

Bayrou is trying to convince the population.

The budgets were to be formally presented at the end of September or the beginning of October, but the issue is in the air, as Bayrou will face amotion of confidence on 8 September , in which he hoped to gain confidence and gain support for an adjustment of around EUR 44 billion. 

But he has anticipated that the entire opposition will vote against, and given that they have an absolute majority in the National Assembly,  will ,unless otherwise agreed, lead to the resignation of the prime minister and the fall of the government.

Faced with this situation, Bayrou wanted to change the course of events and addressed the French directlythis Friday at a market in Chalons de Champagne. In it, he has dramatized the country's financial situation, describing it as "serious and urgent."

"Debt eats the work of the French," he said. As he explained, since 1974 France has been dragging a budget deficit and reminding us that this is not feasible in the long term. 

He has again justified an adjustment of EUR 44 billion in 2026, saying that this is not a figure invented by him, but a step in the direction of reducing the deficit.

 

He wants to speed up negotiations.

The Prime Minister is aware that he probably doesn't have many days left in office and in his latest attempt to save himself, he has called on the political parties to discuss the content of the adjustment. 

Jean-Luc Mélenchon's Insumisa France (LFI) and environmentalists have advanced that they will not meet with Bayrou. 

The leader of the far-right party, Marine Le Pen, and President Jordan Bardella have accepted the prime minister's invitation, although both have made it clear that they will vote against the prime minister on September 8 and that they want early elections, and not just legislative elections.

The Socialist Party (PS) has said that it will vote for the fall of the Bayrou Government, but has not yet clarified whether it will meet with it. It will also present an alternative draft budget that it would like to launch with a new left-wing head of government.