What is known about March 19 public sector strikes in France?

Teachers and nurses are set to walk out across France tomorrow (March 19) as part of a public sector strike over pay and working conditions.

An inter-union group is backing the action and calling for workers to strike over “the lack of prospects for pay rises during a period of inflation.”

The action will mainly involve teachers and nurses – including infirmiers libéraux (self-employed nurses) – but unions are calling on all public sector workers and civil servants to join the protests.

Schools across France are likely to be affected by closures, although there is no indication of the percentage of teachers set to join the action as yet.

Teaching unions in Paris said they expect a ‘strong’ turnout and for both lycées and collèges to be impacted, and that further strikes could follow in the coming days.

The SNES-FSU teacher union said there will be more than 120 demonstrations across the country.

You can find more details about the protests, including time and location, here on the SNES-FSU website.

Teachers have already participated in a number of significant strikes this year, and unions have called for ‘continual action’ over the coming months by workers in the sector.

Read more: New teacher strike in France and calls for further action in March

An extra €300 per month for some teachers

Teaching unions are demanding “an immediate 10% increase in the value of the index point [a measurement used to calculate public actor salaries] and for the loss of purchasing power since January 2000 to be made up.”

The monthly net salary of a teacher in France ranges from €1,862 to €2,816 depending on experience.

The FSU-SNUIpp, the leading union for primary education and maternelle teachers, are calling for a €300 monthly raise for all workers in the early education sector.

Teaching staff also want an end to proposed changes to curriculums – announced by Prime Minister Gabriel Attal when he was Education Minister – smaller class sizes, and a reversal of a proposed €700 million worth of cuts to the education budget.

Read more: ‘Why France’s ‘boy wonder’ PM may still end up as Macron’s scapegoat’

Nurses demand recognition for ‘arduous’ work

The two largest national representatives of nurses – the syndicat national des infirmières et infirmiers libéraux (Sniil) and the collectif des infirmiers libéraux en colère – are calling for as many nurses as possible to join the action.

Alongside improved pay conditions, they want “work be started on the recognition of the arduous nature of the profession and on the simplifications that need to be made in order to restore quality of life at work,” they announced in a joint statement.

“The healthcare system cannot afford the luxury of seeing this profession slowly disappear due to the exhaustion and discouragement [of nurses], who remain among the few healthcare professionals who still go into patients' homes,” they added.

The average annual net salary for a self-employed nurse in France is €34,638 for a cover worker, up to €48,151 for more experienced nurses.

Nurses will engage in ‘escargot’ operations – driving extremely slowly to block roads – in cities including Rennes, Caen, and Montpellier.

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