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Protest event in Paris
Photo: ALAIN JOCARD / AFP
The strikes at French refineries, which have been going on for about three weeks, spread to the railways, Parisian transport and other sectors on Tuesday.
High schools, vocational schools, nuclear power plants and an electricity plant were also affected.
Tens of thousands of people took to the streets across the country.
While the Interior Ministry spoke of 107,000 participants in demonstrations across the country, the union put the figure at almost 300,000.
Several trade unions and left-wing opposition politicians had called for protests against high prices and the planned pension reform.
In numerous cities, people took to the streets.
Among other things, a protest march in Paris moved in the afternoon, and there were riots on the sidelines.
Demonstrators dressed in black smashed shop windows and aimed projectiles at security forces.
According to the Ministry of the Interior, eleven people were arrested and nine police officers were injured.
According to the police, around 2,200 people took part in a demonstration in Marseille and 1,100 in Strasbourg. A total of around 150 protest events were planned in the country.
In the case of the railways, regional trains were primarily canceled.
In Paris, buses and some of the suburban trains were particularly affected.
Many people who can work from home refrained from driving to work on Tuesday.
The unions initially left open whether they wanted to extend the strike.
“The employees decide that,” said CGT union leader Philippe Martinez.
Many French people are worried about their planned trips in view of the school holidays starting on Friday.
Nuclear power generation below historic low
According to the network operator RTE, the power supply in winter could also be at risk due to the strikes at nuclear power plants.
The current protests by workers at nuclear power plants have resulted in the start-up of several reactors being delayed by two to three weeks, the network operator RTE warned in Paris on Tuesday.
At the beginning of November, production is expected to be lower than previously assumed.
The French nuclear reactors are currently producing around 30 gigawatts, which is eight gigawatts less than the previous historic low, RTE said.
The total capacity of the French nuclear park is around 61 gigawatts.
Because of the ongoing problems with nuclear power plants, which have had to be shut down for maintenance or corrosion damage, Germany is supplying additional electricity to France this winter in exchange for gas from the neighboring country.
The network operator expects several critical moments for the coming winter.
These could occur during the main consumption times in the morning or between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m.
"The risk of a power failure can be avoided if power consumption is reduced by one to five percent and in extreme cases by up to 15 percent," emphasized RTE.
Refineries are still on strike
Meanwhile, strikes at four TotalEnergies refineries and several fuel depots continue.
Government spokesman Olivier Véran said the government intends to keep staff on duty.
According to Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne, around 30 percent of the filling stations currently have supply problems with at least one type of fuel.
This is "too much".
sol/AFP
