ALBAWABA - Thousands of French firefighters staged a confrontational protest in the northern city of Lille on Thursday, denouncing chronic staff shortages, a lack of equipment, and worsening working conditions.
Demonstrators blocked sections of the city’s ring road, set fire to tires, and clashed with police near the headquarters of the departmental fire and rescue service (SDIS), highlighting growing anger over public sector austerity under President Emmanuel Macron’s government.
Firefighters’ unions say years of budget cuts have stretched emergency services to breaking point, noting that more than 5,000 firefighter positions were eliminated between 2021 and 2022.
The protest comes amid a broader wave of social unrest across France. Farmers have mounted large-scale demonstrations throughout January, opposing the EU-Mercosur trade agreement and protesting falling incomes, rising production costs, and what they describe as excessive environmental and administrative regulations.
Hundreds of tractors were deployed in and around Paris, blocking major routes and symbolic landmarks including the National Assembly and the Arc de Triomphe, before some actions were suspended following government promises of debt relief measures and an emergency agricultural bill.
The protests were led by powerful unions such as FNSEA and Coordination Rurale, which accuse authorities of exposing French farmers to unfair competition from South American imports.
Disruptions linked to the protests have caused widespread traffic congestion and motorway blockades, particularly around Paris, while strikes by doctors and rail workers have added to the sense of national paralysis.
Although many road closures were lifted by mid-January, tensions remain high, with unions warning of renewed mobilization if commitments are not swiftly implemented.
Macron is facing mounting domestic criticism over budget austerity and declining purchasing power, with opinion polls indicating broad public sympathy for the protesters. At the same time, he is grappling with external pressures, including sharp transatlantic tensions after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened tariffs linked to disputes over Greenland.
Macron has responded with defiant rhetoric, calling for European unity and defending national sovereignty, while hosting Danish and Greenlandic leaders and warning of a shift in the post-World War II global order.
