---
title: "Workers Strike Across France as Unions Demand Higher Pay"
description: "Hundreds of thousands were expected to march from Paris to Marseille, pressing President Macron on wages ahead of the 2027 election."
author: "rews desk"
published: 2026-11-05T12:21:13Z
modified: 2026-11-05T17:38:28Z
url: https://rews.cc/a/workers-strike-across-france-as-unions-demand-higher-pay-0eaffc
language: en
tags: ["politics", "economy", "unions", "inflation", "elections", "europe"]
publisher: "Rews (https://rews.cc)"
---

# Workers Strike Across France as Unions Demand Higher Pay

*Hundreds of thousands were expected to march from Paris to Marseille, pressing President Macron on wages ahead of the 2027 election.*

By rews desk · November 5, 2026 · https://rews.cc/a/workers-strike-across-france-as-unions-demand-higher-pay-0eaffc

## In brief

- French trade unions called a nationwide strike on Thursday over pay and the minimum wage
- Protests were held in Paris, Marseille, Lyon, Nantes and Lille, with a Paris rally from 1 p.m. GMT
- Unions joined a growing student protest movement over under-resourced schools
- More than 600,000 people rallied nationwide and 16% of teachers struck, reports said
- The unrest adds pressure on President Macron with a presidential election due in 2027

Workers across France went on strike on Thursday after the country’s trade unions issued a joint call, and hundreds of thousands of people were expected to take to the streets demanding higher pay, [Al Jazeera reported](https://aljazeera.com/news/2026/11/5/workers-strike-across-france-hundreds-of-thousands-expected-to-protest).

Protesters gathered from the morning in Paris, in Marseille and Lyon in the south, in Nantes to the west and in Lille in the north. The main Paris rally was scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. GMT, and [CNN described](https://www.cnn.com/2026/11/05/world/live-news/france-strikes-protests-action-schools-intl) expectations of the largest day of protest in years, with high school students blocking streets with garbage bins.

The unions are demanding an increase in the minimum wage and higher salaries for all workers, among other reforms. They also joined forces with a spreading student protest movement over under-resourced schools, [according to The Washington Post](https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2026/11/05/france-protests-unions-students-paris-rioting/58400290-d8f4-11f1-930a-e08f8086f5ac_story.html), which reported confrontations between students and the police in Paris earlier in the week.

Public and private education unions called the strike alongside unions representing rail workers, public hospitals and the postal service. Around 16 percent of teachers nationwide stayed off the job, the education ministry said, and [Le Monde reported](https://www.lemonde.fr/en/france/article/2026/11/05/france-workers-strike-march-for-dignified-wage_6772768_7.html) that more than 600,000 people rallied across the country.

The strike landed on a government already on the defensive. Street protests over purchasing power, public services and what demonstrators call fiscal and social justice had been building since October, including an Oct. 24 march in Paris that drew labor unions, students and veterans of the Yellow Vest movement, [The Los Angeles Times reported](https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2026-11-05/french-unions-join-forces-for-nationwide-strikes-increasing-pressure-on-macrons-government). For President Emmanuel Macron, the unrest compounds the pressure with a presidential election due in 2027.