French Workers and Students March for Higher Wages, Better Schools

Workers and students marched across France on Nov. 5 to demand higher wages and better school conditions, while the country’s latest quarterly public debt ratio stood at 119.0% of gross domestic product.

France’s Interior Ministry estimated that more than 600,000 people joined the demonstrations. The CGT union put turnout at nearly 1.6 million. The two estimates differ substantially, but both describe nationwide protests over pay and schools.

France’s general-government debt reached 119.0% of GDP at the end of the second quarter of 2026, up from 117.5% at the end of the first quarter. The increase was 1.5 percentage points. Those figures predate the Nov. 5 marches.

For a single worker without children earning the average wage, taxes and social contributions accounted for 47.2% of labor costs in France in 2025. The comparable U.S. figure was 30.0%. The comparison applies to that worker profile, not to every employee’s tax burden.

The demonstrations took place amid a dispute over France’s draft budget.