Almost three weeks after a strike that has forced petrol stations across France to close, police in Paris are preparing for protests against the rising cost of living on Sunday.
Left-wing opponents of President Emmanuel Macron’s government organized the demonstration, which they say is also in protest at the government’s inaction on climate change.
Jean-Luc Melenchon, leader of the left-wing France Unbowed (LFI) party, planned the march well before the current strike, but organizers hope to capture some of the momentum of the current labor unrest.
“The price hike is unbearable,” said LFI Deputy Manon Aubry. “This is the biggest loss of purchasing power in 40 years.”
It’s time the billions in profits the big corporations rake in are passed on to those struggling to make ends meet, she added.
Police expect around 30,000 to attend, with a source saying they fear trouble from hard-left troublemakers. “The organizer has been warned of these fears,” the official said.
– More protests –
The dispute over French refineries and depots has forced many petrol stations to close and has affected all sectors of the economy.
According to government figures released to French broadcaster BFMTV on Saturday, 27.3 percent of gas stations were missing at least one product: in the Paris region, that proportion rose to 39.9 percent.
Four of France’s seven refineries and one tank terminal are still out of service after striking members of the far-left CGT union rejected a salary offer from the hydrocarbon industry leader that other unions accepted.
They are furious that Macron’s government used requisition powers this week to force some strikers to open fuel depots, a move that has so far been upheld by the courts.
But the union risks stirring up resentment in a country where three-quarters of workers rely on private vehicles for their jobs. A BVA poll released on Friday found public support for the strike was just 37 percent.
The CGT is pushing for a 10 percent pay rise for TotalEnergies employees backdated to the beginning of the year.
It argues that the French group can more than afford it, citing TotalEnergies’ net profit of $5.7 billion in the April-June period as energy prices skyrocketed from the war in Ukraine and the Distribution of billions of euros in dividends to shareholders.
The union extended its strike action, which began on September 26, until Tuesday and then called for a broader public transport strike across the country.
The CGT broke off talks with the French group last week, despite other unions representing the majority of workers accepting an agreement on a lower wage increase.
Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne will appear on prime-time television on Sunday evening to address the fuel shortage.
