Nearly 100 People Arrested In French Ricuh Demo

JAKARTA - The number of people arrested during the strike and protests that took place across France jumped to nearly 100 in just five hours on Thursday.

The number of people arrested across France has reached 99, of which 15 have been arrested in Paris. That figure jumped from 30 in protests on Thursday morning led by several unions.

As reported by ANTARA from Anadolu, Thursday, September 18, two people, one journalist and a police officer, were injured in clashes between protesters and police in Lyon, where mortar fire and projectiles were thrown at police.

About 50 protesters had entered the Ministry of Economics complex before leaving the complex a few minutes later.

CGT's Secretary-General of the Labor Union, Sophie Binet, who took part in a demonstration in Paris, said the mobilization was "a success," with more than 400 thousand participants.

Twenty-three schools were completely blocked this morning, with 52 others partially blocked, while about 17 percent of teachers went on strike, according to the Ministry of Education.

Authorities also reported that there were 13 thousand demonstrators in Marseille and 20 thousand in Lyon during the day.

Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau told reporters the blockade was "not as intense as expected in the morning."

Mass mobilization was carried out by several major trade unions in France, in response to the controversial budget proposal introduced by former Prime Minister Francois Bayrou.

Retailleau said on Wednesday it expects "very, very large" mobilization in various sectors, including public services, education, transportation, agriculture, industry, and entertainment.

To secure the protests, the Ministry of Home Affairs will deploy more than 80,000 police and military police officers across the country, alongside armored vehicles, drones, and water cannons.

In a move not seen since the Yellow Rompi protests, 24 Centaure armored vehicles will be deployed across France, along with about ten water launchers.

About 40 union protests are planned across the country, with initial estimates suggesting up to 800 thousand demonstrators will participate.

The demonstration on September 18 was a continuation of last week's 'block Everything' mass mobilization, which attracted nearly 197 thousand people across the country.

Controversial national budget plans

France faced escalating political tensions after Bayrou lost a vote of distrust at the National Assembly on September 8.

Bayrou, which launched the 2026 budget framework in July, is seeking support for a savings plan of nearly 44 billion euros (approximately IDR 859 trillion) as part of an effort to reduce the spike in French public debt, which is now 113 percent of its GDP.

French President Emmanuel Macron appointed Armed Forces Minister Sebastien Lecornu as the country's new prime minister. He was assigned to hold consultations with political parties before forming his government.

France recorded one of the largest budget deficits in the European Union, which is 5.8 percent of GDP. Budget negotiations have become a major source of tension in French politics.

The failure to reach an agreement regarding the 2025 fiscal year ago also led to the collapse of the Michel Barnier government in December after the left-wing and far-right parties united to support no-confidence motion.