00:01A one-day national strike organized by trade unions workers and students drew
00:07hundreds of thousands of people across France on Thursday. The protest was
00:11announced weeks ago and took place a day after French lawmakers rejected the
00:16first part of the 2027 budget bill. The government has been struggling to push
00:21its austerity measures through a divided Parliament as France deals with its
00:26crippling public debt. For trade unions, austerity measures are not the way
00:30forward.
00:31To respond to the deficit, we need to establish the taxes for the richest and the largest
00:37companies and that will allow us to finance our public services.
00:40Nationwide demonstrations began with student protests in mid-September before
00:45morphing into a wider movement against the cost of living crisis and rising fuel
00:49prices. In recent weeks, protests have snowballed across Europe.
00:53We are building a European mobilization because each one has different situations but the common point is that
01:02the young people are mobilizing for their right to the future. And the second common point is that
01:08the workers and the workers are not able to be déclassed and not have enough
01:11remuneration of their work.
01:13Student unions have branded the government's proposed measures as crumbs.
01:17Yes, the annonces of government are large enough, so it's not the first one, but for the moment it remains
01:22that they are going to open 15,000 places at the university, knowing that 10,000 places have been
01:26suppressed this year. It would be for the government to take young people seriously.
01:32Authorities have rolled out major security measures following violence and looting which
01:36occurred on the 17th and 18th of October. The government says the measures are needed to
01:40protect businesses and citizens. Unions and rights groups allege they undermine their right
01:45to protest. This is Dan Nelson Julian reporting for Euronews from Paris.
