French union leader calls for strikes after talks collapse

The leader of the French CGT union, Sophie Binet, called for industrial strikes on Wednesday after talks with Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu collapsed. France 24 reported that Binet issued the call following a meeting over fresh protests, stating that the government offered no measures or acknowledgement of union demands. [1]

The collapsed negotiations followed a weekend of violent unrest across France. As FTMQ News reported earlier, Prime Minister Lecornu scheduled a Monday crisis cabinet meeting after nationwide demonstrations over living costs involved over 500,000 people, leading to more than 1,800 arrests and damage to an estimated 1,500 businesses. NDTV reported that the French government imposed localized curfews to curb the rioting and looting. [1][2][6]

Lecornu has served as Prime Minister of France since September 2025. He is positioned on the right of the political spectrum and has promoted Gaullist and socially conservative beliefs. [3]