France braces for what could be its largest day of protests in years as economy fuels unrest

• General strike : France is bracing for what could be its biggest demonstrations in years , with between 500,000 and 700,000 protesters expected to take to the streets across the country.

• Widespread disruptions : The strike is organized by L’intersyndicale, the group that represents all of France’s main trade unions. Education, health care, public transportation and other sectors are likely to be impacted with many services closed for the day. But the strikes go beyond the public sector with many employees of private companies planning to join in.

• Europe discontent : Anti-government protests have swept beyond France with Belgium, Germany, Spain, Italy, Portugal and Albania seeing unrest in recent weeks. While each country has its own problems, the poor state of the economy, rising cost of living and dissatisfaction with individual governments are similar themes driving the protests.

Parisian businesses prepare for massive protests, police deploy to train stations

Some high street businesses in the French capital boarded up their stores ahead of today’s demonstrations, as Parisians braced for another round of protests over the cost of living and other grievances.

Meanwhile, local police have been deployed to train stations across the city, with searches being carried out to confiscate dangerous items.

“No equipment intended for committing acts of violence should reach the gathering places,” police posted on X.

French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said Wednesday that no level of disorder would be tolerated and arrests would be made if necessary.

He added that routes have been agreed between authorities and trade unions in almost all cities where protests are expected, but some disagreements remain.

CNN’s Lucie Lepellec and Pierre Bairin contributed reporting.

US embassy in France warns of travel disruption and potential hospital closures

Denis Balibouse/Reuters

The US embassy in France has warned of possible rail, metro, road and flight disruption as a result of today’s demonstrations, as well as the potential closure of hospitals and banks.

In the statement, the embassy set out several anticipated impacts including “possible closures or reduced services in Paris and across France” affecting schools, hospitals, banks and government offices.

It also advised US citizens to avoid areas where demonstrations or large gatherings were due to take place and “plan alternative routes and allow extra travel time for travel.”

It’s not just France – protests have sprung up across Europe

France is not the only European country seeing angry anti-government protests.

Belgium, Germany, Spain, Italy, Portugal and Albania have all seen unrest in recent weeks. Each country has its own unique problems which sparked their protests, but the economy is a key factor in all of them.

In Germany, a new youth-led movement dubbed “Gen Z has got this!” protested last weekend against the high cost of living, underfunded schools and universities, environmental concerns and a potential reintroduction of mandatory military service . While many of the protests were peaceful, water cannons and riot police were deployed in Cologne and Hamburg.

In Albania, anti-corruption protests were triggered by a proposed luxury resort project from Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner. In Italy, rising fuel prices first forced people into the streets, while in Portugal, the issue of affordable housing was initially the main driver.

In Spain, the Ceuta migration crisis and the nationwide lack of affordable housing are among the main issues on protesters’ minds.

Underneath this discontent across the continent lie similar themes: the poor state of the economy, rising cost of living and dissatisfaction with governments’ responses to these problems.

How the economy is driving the anger

Stephanie Lecocq/Reuters

The protests in France come against the backdrop of a shaky economy, with the country’s growth lagging behind other EU members and its debt drawing scrutiny from credit rating agencies.

The French economy is perilously close to going into recession after shrinking 0.1% in the third quarter of the year. Consumer demand is weak, investment in manufacturing shrinking and its farming sector was hurt by a hot, dry summer.

The Bank of France is likely going to have to lower its already anemic forecast of 0.4% growth for 2026, Governor Emmanuel Moulin said this week.

“Unfortunately, I think it’s a bit too optimistic,” he said Tuesday.

France’s sovereign debt stands at $4 trillion, and it’s having to offer bonds at higher returns to attract buyers. This only increases the amount of interest the country must pay in coming years.

Fitch Ratings marked France’s credit score down at the end of October, saying it “reflects a deterioration since our August 2026 review comprising weaker growth, higher borrowing costs and a wider deficit.”

“These worsen debt dynamics from an already weak starting point,” Fitch added.

Successive governments have done little to rein in welfare payments beyond trying to raise the retirement age in 2023. France’s National Assembly has since suspended a reform that would have raised the retirement age from 62 to 64 for most workers until the 2027 presidential election.

• 总罢工：法国正准备迎接多年来规模最大的示威游行，预计将有 50 万至 70 万名抗议者走上全国各地的街头。

• 大范围混乱：此次罢工由代表法国所有主要工会的法国工会联合会（L'intersyndicale）组织。教育、医疗、公共交通和其他行业可能受到影响，许多服务将暂停一天。但罢工的影响范围不仅限于公共部门，许多私营企业的员工也计划加入。

欧洲不满情绪蔓延：反政府抗议活动已从法国蔓延至比利时、德国、西班牙、意大利、葡萄牙和阿尔巴尼亚，近几周来，这些国家都出现了动荡。尽管每个国家面临的问题各不相同，但经济状况不佳、生活成本不断上涨以及民众对政府的不满是引发这些抗议活动的共同原因。

巴黎商家严阵以待应对大规模抗议活动，警方已部署警力前往火车站。

在今天的示威活动开始前，法国首都巴黎的一些商业街商家用木板封住了店铺，巴黎市民严阵以待，准备迎接新一轮因生活成本和其他不满而引发的抗议活动。

与此同时，当地警方已在全市各火车站部署警力，进行搜查以没收危险物品。

“任何用于实施暴力行为的设备都不得到达聚集地点，”警方在X上发布消息称。

法国国内事务部长洛朗·努涅斯周三表示，任何程度的骚乱都将不被容忍，如有必要，将进行逮捕。

他还补充说，在几乎所有预计会发生抗议活动的城市，当局和工会都已就抗议路线达成一致，但仍存在一些分歧。

CNN的露西·勒佩莱克和皮埃尔·拜林对此报道亦有贡献。

美国驻法国大使馆警告称，旅行可能受到影响，医院可能关闭。

丹尼斯·巴利布斯/路透社

美国驻法国大使馆警告称，由于今天的示威活动，铁路、地铁、公路和航班可能会受到影响，医院和银行也可能关闭。

声明中，大使馆列出了几项预期影响，包括“巴黎和法国各地可能出现的关闭或服务减少”，这些影响将波及学校、医院、银行和政府机构。

它还建议美国公民避开即将举行示威或大型集会的地区，“规划替代路线并预留额外的出行时间”。

不仅仅是法国——抗议活动在欧洲各地爆发。

法国并非唯一一个爆发愤怒的反政府抗议活动的欧洲国家。

比利时、德国、西班牙、意大利、葡萄牙和阿尔巴尼亚近几周都出现了动荡。每个国家都有各自独特的问题引发了抗议活动，但经济因素在所有国家都是关键所在。

上周末，德国一场名为“Z世代，我行！”的青年运动发起抗议，反对高昂的生活成本、学校和大学经费不足、环境问题以及可能恢复强制兵役制。虽然许多抗议活动是和平的，但在科隆和汉堡，警方还是部署了水炮车和防暴警察。

在阿尔巴尼亚，伊万卡·特朗普和她的丈夫贾里德·库什纳提出的豪华度假村项目引发了反腐败抗议。在意大利，不断上涨的燃油价格首先迫使人们走上街头；而在葡萄牙，经济适用房问题最初是主要驱动因素。

在西班牙，休达移民危机和全国范围内缺乏经济适用房是抗议者们关注的主要问题之一。

整个非洲大陆的不满情绪背后都隐藏着相似的主题：经济状况不佳、生活成本不断上涨以及对政府应对这些问题的措施感到不满。

经济如何加剧了这种愤怒

Stephanie Lecocq/路透社

法国的抗议活动发生在经济不稳定的背景下，该国的经济增长落后于其他欧盟成员国，其债务也受到信用评级机构的审查。

法国经济在今年第三季度萎缩了0.1%，正处于岌岌可危的衰退边缘。消费需求疲软，制造业投资减少，农业部门也受到炎热干燥夏季的冲击。

法国央行行长埃马纽埃尔·穆兰本周表示，该行可能不得不下调其原本就十分疲弱的2026年经济增长预期，即0.4%。

“不幸的是，我认为这有点过于乐观了，”他周二表示。

法国的主权债务高达4万亿美元，为了吸引买家，不得不发行收益率更高的债券。这只会增加法国未来几年必须支付的利息总额。

惠誉评级在 10 月底下调了法国的信用评分，称其“反映出自我们 2026 年 8 月的评估以来，法国的信用状况有所恶化，包括增长放缓、借贷成本上升和赤字扩大”。

惠誉补充道：“这些因素加剧了本已疲弱的债务形势。”

除了试图在 2023 年提高退休年龄外，历届政府在控制福利支出方面几乎没有采取任何措施。法国国民议会此后暂停了一项改革，该改革原本会将大多数工人的退休年龄从 62 岁提高到 64 岁，直到 2027 年总统选举为止。