French public sector workers strike over pay freeze ahead of 2027 budget

Teachers, healthcare workers, local government staff, tax officials and firefighters in France are on strike Tuesday to pressure the government ahead of the 2027 budget debates which could see public sector salaries frozen for a fourth straight year. Issued on: 29/09/2026 - 08:08Modified: 29/09/2026 - 08:12 2 min Reading time France's eight major public sector unions called the strike to put pressure on the government before Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu unveils the budget on Thursday, after which it will go a debate in parliament. The unions, which had already rejected the government’s initial budget announcements, are calling for pay raises to keep up with inflation. Salaries frozen, again In mid-September, Lecornu told the Le Figaro newspaper he wanted to once again freeze the index used to calculate civil servants' base pay – a proposal that the unions called "a real provocation". The index has not moved since July 2023, meaning no pay raises for three straight years, even as inflation has increased. France cuts growth forecast again as economic uncertainty weighs heavy "There is deep anger among public sector employees, who tell us: 'We're fed up with civil servant bashing'," CFDT general secretary Marylise Léon said on France 2 public television on Monday. Who is striking? Teachers will be joining the strike in force. According to the FSU-Snuipp primary teachers' union, two in five teachers will strike, meaning 40 percent of staff in preschools and primary schools will be involved. Public hospital unions have also called on workers to join, and non-emergency services and scheduled outpatient appointments may be reduced or postponed. For the first time since 2018, all the unions at the public employment agency France Travail have called for workers to strike and join demonstrations. Demonstrations across France The CGT union has recorded around 170 planned demonstrations across France, a similar number to the last major public sector mobilisation in December 2024. In Paris two marches are expected to converge on Place de la Nation, one from Place de la République and the other from Place d'Italie. One will be made up of just firefighters, who were particularly stretched by fires this summer. 'We’re short of everything' say striking French firefighters In northern France, a march will leave Porte de Paris in Lille at 2.30pm; a rally is planned outside the railway station in Arras at 9.30am; and in Liévin demonstrators will meet outside the local CGT office at 2pm. The main high school student union is also calling for high school blockades across France on Tuesday, to coincide with teachers. "We decided to extend nationwide what is happening in the Île-de-France region, because these issues affect the entire country," Ryad Rani, president of the USL student union, told French news agency AFP. The organisation's demands include addressing the "general lack of resources," "overcrowded classrooms" – with numbers sometimes reaching 32 or 35 students – and the "shortage of teachers and staff," including school nurses and student supervisors. Transport spared Transport will not be very affected, as SUD-Rail is the only major rail union calling for a strike. The SNCF said four out of five regional TER trains would be running, predicting "near-normal traffic". High speed TGV and long distance Intercités services will run as normal, and the Paris metro, buses and trams should operate as planned, with minor disruption on the RER and suburban lines.