PARIS (AP) \u2014 Protesters hit France with transport strikes, notably targeting the Paris Metro, blockades and demonstrations Thursday, pitting the power of the\u2026<\/b>
\nProtesters hit France with transport strikes, notably targeting the Paris Metro, blockades and demonstrations Thursday, pitting the power of the streets against President Emmanuel Macron \u2018s government and its plans to cut funding for public services that underpin the French way of life.
The first scuffles between police and protesters came before the break of day, in Paris. Demonstrations were planned nationwide, from France\u2019s biggest cities to small towns.
Major trade unions that called strikes are pushing for the abandonment of proposed budget cuts, social welfare freezes and other belt-tightening that opponents contend will further erode the purchasing power of low-paid and middle-class workers and which triggered the collapse of successive governments that sought to push them through.
The planned day of upheaval \u2014 with strikes also impacting schools, industry and other sectors of the European Union\u2019s second-largest economy \u2014 aimed to turn up the heat on new Prime Minister S\u00e9bastien Lecornu. Macron appointed him last week, tasking Lecornu with the job of building support in Parliament for proposed budget cuts that brought down his immediate predecessors but which the government insists are needed to rein in France\u2019s massive deficit and debt.
Unions have decried the budget proposals as brutal and punitive for workers, retirees and others who are vulnerable. They also continue to denounce Macron\u2019s wildly unpopular pension reform that raised the minimum retirement age from 62 to 64.
The government said it was deploying police in exceptionally large numbers \u2014 about 80,000 in all \u2014 to keep order on Thursday.
French national rail company SNCF said \u201ca few disruptions\u201d were expected on high-speed trains to France and Europe, but most will run.
Regional rail lines, as well as the Paris Metro and commuter trains, will be more severely impacted.
In airports, only few disruptions are anticipated as the main air traffic controllers union decided to postponed its call for a strike pending the appointment of a new Cabinet.
Last week, a day of anti-government action across France saw streets choked with smoke, barricades in flames and volleys of tear gas as protesters denounced budget cuts and political turmoil.
Although falling short of its self-declared intention of total disruption, the \u201cBlock Everything\u201d campaign still managed to paralyze parts of daily life and ignite hundreds of hot spots across the country.
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