Headlines
French trade unions to hold protests, strikes on September 18
Published by Global Banking and Finance Review
Posted on August 29, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 22, 2026
Global Banking and Finance Review
Company
Published by Global Banking and Finance Review
Posted on August 29, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 22, 2026
French unions will protest on September 18 against fiscal policies, amid political tensions and a looming confidence vote that could destabilize the government.
By Dominique Vidalon
PARIS (Reuters) -French unions will stage protests on September 18 against the government's fiscal plans, a top union leader said on Friday, as the euro zone's second biggest economy braces for a confidence vote called by the prime minister that he is likely to lose.
Opposition parties have said they will bring down the minority government in the September 8 confidence vote, which Prime Minister Francois Bayrou unexpectedly announced on Monday over his unpopular plans for a budget squeeze in 2026.
Unions want to make sure those fiscal plans are not adopted, Marylise Leon, the leader of the CFDT, France's largest union, told reporters.
"Our organisations are calling for a day of action on September 18, including through strikes and protest rallies," Leon said after eight major unions met to discuss what steps to take.
"The house of horrors that is the draft budget must be scrapped," she added.
A separate series of protests and strikes has been called for on social media for September 10 by various groups with disparate aims. That call has drawn comparisons to the 'Yellow Vest' protests that erupted in 2018 over fuel price hikes and the high cost of living.
The "Gilets Jaunes" protests spiralled into a broader movement against President Emmanuel Macron and his efforts at economic reform.
Bayrou called the September 8 confidence vote in a bid to get ahead of a likely no-confidence vote the opposition was preparing to hold later in the year over his plans for a budget squeeze in 2026.
That immediately backfired, with opposition parties saying they would vote him out.
Business leaders have warned that the political crisis carries heavy risks for the French economy.
(Reporting by Dominique Vidalon; Writing by Ingrid Melander; Editing by Makini Brice and Gareth Jones)
French unions are protesting against the government's fiscal plans, which they want to ensure are not adopted.
Marylise Leon, the leader of the CFDT, France's largest union, is a prominent figure in organizing the protests.
A confidence vote is scheduled for September 8, which Prime Minister Francois Bayrou called to preempt a likely no-confidence vote from opposition parties.
Business leaders have warned that the ongoing political crisis could pose significant risks to the French economy.
The protests have drawn comparisons to the 'Yellow Vest' protests, which were a broader movement against President Emmanuel Macron's economic reforms.
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