Protests resume in France as thousands take to streets against spending cuts, Eiffel Tower closed

The protestors, including workers, retirees and students, marched in the French capital on Tuesday afternoon from Place d’Italie in protest against the spending cuts and demanding higher taxes on rich. The Eiffel Tower issued a statement informing visitors that it was closed due to the strikes.

The strikes are the latest of a series of protests that started in France last month amid a political turmoil and heated budget talks, Associated Press reported.

The French Interior Ministry said that 195,000 protesters have taken to the street across the country, including 24,000 in Paris.

The protests have affected regional train services and healthcare. While the metro traffic was functioning close to normal in Paris, but the trains were running at reduced capacity. Several teachers and health care workers also joined the strikes.

All about the French strikes

Several thousand protesters have marched across France demanding action against the government’s plans for sharp spending cuts in next year’s budget.

The trade unions are trying to keep the pressure on President Emmanuel Macron and his new prime minister, Sebastien Lecornu, who is trying to break an impasse in budget negotiations with political rivals.

Lecornu, who was appointed last month, has not yet unveiled the details of his budget plans and has yet to appoint his government ministers. The deeply divided parliament is to debate the budget bill by the end of the year.

The union leaders have been demanding more spending on public services, reversal of government’s decision to increase the retirement age and higher taxes on wealthy.

Last month, more than 500,000 demonstrators marched across France’s small towns and big cities in a countrywide strike. The Unions said that over one million strikers and protesters had joined the protest.