PARIS — Tens of thousands of people marched in Paris on Sunday to protest against the rising cost of living, in an increasingly tense political climate marked by strikes at oil refineries and nuclear power plants that threaten to end. spread further.
The march had been planned long before the strikes by a coalition of left-wing parties keen to capitalize on the cost-of-living crisis and assert themselves as the main opposition force to President Emmanuel Macron. But on Sunday organizers signaled they intended to use the climate of social unrest to increase pressure on Mr Macron’s government.
“We have to be tougher,” said David Guiraud, a deputy from France Unbowed, the far-left party that led Sunday’s protest. He added that the government could “no longer decide alone”.
Mr. Macron finds himself in a perilous situation. He is simultaneously facing discontent over shortages at petrol stations, labor strikes and fierce opposition in the National Assembly, the lower and most powerful house of parliament, which could try to bring down his government this week. because of a contested budget bill.
“We are entering a particular and quite extraordinary cycle,” said Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the leader of France Insoumise, as he led the demonstration on Sunday. He noted “the great convergence” between the strikes, the crisis in Parliament and the march.
At the heart of the problem, the rising cost of living. Already at the center of the concerns of the presidential campaign this spring, it has now risen to the top of the concerns of the French, according to a recent study, far ahead of more traditional subjects such as climate change, security or immigration.
Although lower than the rest of Europe, inflation in France has exceeded 6%, pushing up the prices of basic products such as meat and pasta. Parliament passed an inflation-fighting program this summer, but it hasn’t fully offset soaring energy costs, which are rising due to Russia’s war in Ukraine.
“It’s amazing,” said Gwenola Leroux, a 63-year-old retired literature professor, who marched on Sunday. “Whenever I buy basic necessities, I wonder if they got the price wrong.” She was holding a cardboard sign on which she had written a fable inspired by the 17th-century poet La Fontaine, denouncing inflation.
“Farewell, water, lettuce, sausage, electricity,” he said.
The situation has been aggravated by strikes at numerous refineries, which have left almost a third of all petrol pumps across the country completely or partially dry and forced drivers to queue for hours in stations, sometimes in chaotic scenes.
Workers have been picketing for higher wages in line with inflation, as well as a bigger share of the energy giants’ rising profits. But their demands have resonated far beyond refineries, prompting nuclear power plants and railway workers to also halt work or plan ahead.
The left has appeared eager to use the social unrest to rebound politically from scandals involving domestic violence and harassment by prominent lawmakers. Members of France Unbowed have tried to coalesce the discontent, with some going to strike sites in northern France to call for an amplification of protests.
“You can count on us in the National Assembly to echo these fights, to carry your voice and to be at your side”, declared Thursday Thomas Portes, another deputy of France Insoumise, to the strikers of a refinery of TotalEnergies near from Le Havre.
Due to strategic disagreements, major unions did not participate in Sunday’s march; instead, they called a general strike next Tuesday. Mr Mélenchon echoed that call on Sunday, describing the situation as the emergence of a “new Popular Front”, a reference to the broad left-wing coalition that took power in France during the inter -two wars.
The march, which started at Place de la Nation and ended at Place de la Bastille in eastern Paris, had all the hallmarks of a classic French left-wing protest: a sea of red flags, anti-fascist slogans and stalls selling groundbreaking essays.
One participant stood out among the politicians leading the procession: Annie Ernaux, winner of this year’s Nobel Prize for Literature, who is a fervent supporter of the left.
Several lawmakers said the march was aimed at putting pressure on the government as a high-risk week began in the National Assembly, where Mr Macron no longer has an absolute majority.
The government faces a potential crisis over the disputed budget bill. Debate over the measure appears to have stalled, with most of the opposition vowing not to vote for it. On Sunday evening, Élisabeth Borne, the French prime minister, said the government would “probably” use special constitutional powers to push the bill through without a vote, possibly as early as this week.
But this mechanism would also allow opposition members to propose a vote of no confidence. Although the risk of a government collapse seems remote as the centre-right opposition seems reluctant to support the movement, Mr. Guiraud, the lawmaker for France Insoumise, confirmed on Sunday that the left-wing coalition would present such a vote.
“We are ready,” he said.