00:01A one-day national strike organized by trade unions, workers and students drew hundreds of thousands of people across France
00:09on Thursday.
00:10The protest was announced weeks ago and took place a day after French lawmakers rejected the first part of the
00:172027 budget bill.
00:19The government has been struggling to push its austerity measures through a divided parliament as France deals with its crippling
00:26public debt.
00:27For trade unions, austerity measures are not the way forward.
00:40Nationwide demonstrations began with student protests in mid-September, before morphing into a wider movement against the cost of living
00:48crisis and rising fuel prices.
00:50In recent weeks, protests have snowballed across Europe.
00:57puisque chacun, chacune a des situations différentes, mais le point commun, c'est que les jeunes se mobilisent pour leur
01:04droit à l'avenir.
01:06Et puis le deuxième point commun, c'est les travailleurs et les travailleuses qui n'en peuvent plus d'être
01:10déclassés et ne pas avoir assez de rémunération de leur travail.
01:17Les annonces du gouvernement sont largement insuficientes, alors c'est un premier pas, mais pour le moment ça reste des
01:22miettes.
01:22Par exemple, ils nous disent qu'ils vont ouvrir 15 000 places à l'université, sachant que 10 000 places
01:26ont été supprimées cette année.
01:27Il s'agirait à ce gouvernement de prendre un peu la jeunesse au sérieux.
01:32Authorities have rolled out major security measures following violence and looting, which occurred on the 17th and 18th of October.
01:38The government says the measures are needed to protect businesses and citizens.
01:42Unions and rights groups allege they undermine their right to protest.
01:46This is Dan Elson-Julian reporting for Euronews from Paris.
01:49This is Dan Elson-Julian reporting for Euronews.
