Unions to strike in showdown with Macron

French president faces litmus test of his radical labour reform as the Left unites in mass protest

EMMANUEL MACRON is braced for his first showdown on French streets this week, when the country’s biggest public sector union stages a day of strike protests against his labour law.

It will be the first of three major street demonstrations in the next two weeks – seen as a litmus test of the scale of resistance to the French president’s radical reform agenda, at a time when his approval ratings have slumped.

Hundreds of thousands of workers are expected to down tools tomorrow and bang the drum against changes to the labour code that Mr Macron rushed through by decree over the summer in an attempt to free up the stagnant jobs market.

At the helm of the biggest march in Paris will be Philippe Martinez, the leader of the hardline, Communistbacked CGT, France’s biggest state sector union, which has called the strike protest along with smaller Solidaires.

Also taking part – but not by Mr Martinez’s side – will be Jean-luc Mélenchon, the firebrand leader of far-left party France Unbowed. He will stage a separate mass demonstration on Sept 23 against what he calls a “social coup d’état”.

“France hates reforms,” Mr Macron said last month , adding that it can only make changes in “spasms”. However, his government insists it has a clear mandate to proceed. Stéphane Sirot, a historian of union movements, said: “This is a key moment. If the labour reform goes through without too much trouble, the government will feel emboldened for following ones (on unemployment insurance, professional training and pensions).”

The change to France’s 3,000-page labour code gives firms more flexibility to negotiate working conditions, caps unfair dismissal payouts from worker tribunals, allows small companies to bypass union agreements and makes it easier to hire for specific projects.

The law is to be rubber-stamped by the council of state on Sept 22 but the CGT insists the die is not yet cast.

Some 194 separate protests are already planned nationwide tomorrow against a reform which the CGT says will allow employers to “fire at will” and which “casts into question almost 120 years of social history in France”.

“We don’t share the government’s belief that by making divorce easier you end up with more marriages,” said Jacques Eliez, a senior CGT leader.

Last year, a less far-reaching labour reform prompted long, sometimes violent protests and crippling stoppages

‘We don’t share the government’s belief that by making divorce easier you end up with more marriages’

that resulted in petrol pumps running dry, nuclear power stations being forced to run on reduced power, and the Euro 2016 football tournament facing meltdown.

Mickaël Wamen of Cgt-goodyear is adamant that France is heading for similar chaos. “Fear must change sides,” he said. Protests must “paralyse” the country with blockages (refineries and transport), he said, rather than mere street protests.

Beyond the bravado, many observers believe that tomorrow’s protests will not hit sufficient critical mass to rattle the Macron administration.

They point to the fact that two of the three main unions will not take part – the CFDT, France’s biggest private sector union, and the historically more pugnacious Force Ouvrière (FO).

During summer talks, Mr Macron’s labour minister assiduously courted FO, meeting several of its demands.

“There’s no point in starting a fight when it’s all over,” Jean-claude Mailly, leader of FO, told the CGT last week.

However, Mr Macron is by no means in the clear yet.

On Friday, the CGT announced it would stage another day of protest on Sept 21. Two days later, Mr Mélenchon has called on his supporters to “unfurl” into French streets.

An admirer of Hugo Chavez and Fidel Castro, Mr Mélenchon is seen as Mr Macron’s most credible opponent, polls suggest.

Mr Sirot said it was unusual to see a politician call such a protest – normally the preserve of unions, which feel threatened by Mr Mélenchon at a time when their power is on the wane.

Mr Macron, whose approval rating one Yougov poll last week suggested had hit an all-time low of 30 per cent, is banking on a failure to strike an alliance.

On Friday, the president warned: “I will give no ground to idlers, cynics or extremes.”

Mr Mélenchon hit back instantly on Twitter, calling on “all idiots, cynics and idlers to take to the streets on Sept 12 and 23”.