Strike Action Piles Pressure On Macron

Workers across France are engaging in strike action today in an escalation in industrial activity that places significant pressure on President Emmanuel Macron, PM Elisabeth Borne and the French gov't.

• Today's strike, encompassing a broad range of sectors including education and transportation, is a widening of the strike action that has taken place at French refineries for weeks, resulting in low petrol supplies at the nation's forecourts.
• The latest action comes with the added political factor of prominent left-wing politician Jean-Luc Melenchon and his Nupes alliance holding marches last weekend and advocating for greater action.
• Macron's centrist Ensemble governs as a minority in the National Assembly, limiting its options in terms of policy making compared to previous years. Should the strikes spread or continue for a long period of time it could foment a backlash against the gov't, with the population hit by rising inflationary pressures at the same time as a degradation of public services and fuel shortages.
• The petrol shortages in particular will bring back unpleasant memories for Macron from the height of the 'gilets jaunes' protests 2018-19, which were in part sparked by rising fuel prices due to global supply constraints and a new fuel levy.