France Braces for Nov. 5 Nationwide Strike

France is heading into a strike day that could test whether its protest wave still has momentum. Five union confederations (the CFDT, CGT, FO, Unsa and FSU) have called workers out on Thursday, Nov. 5, as part of our dossier on why France is in crisis.

The unions target the government’s 2027 budget plan and demand action on wages, jobs, industry and public services. For readers in the US, it is the next big date after two Saturdays of mass street protests.

What the Unions Want

Sophie Binet, the leader of the CGT (General Confederation of Labour, one of France’s largest unions), urged workers to extend the strike beyond one day after a meeting with Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu on Oct. 21 ended without a deal. The CFDT (French Democratic Confederation of Labour) and Snes-FSU, the main secondary-school teachers’ union, also called for a large turnout.

Whether the action will last more than a day is not settled. Binet’s wording suggests the CGT would like it to.

Trains and Schools

The four main unions at SNCF (CGT-Cheminots, Unsa-Ferroviaire, SUD-Rail and CFDT-Cheminots, the rail-worker branches of the big confederations) have called a strike. SUD-Rail’s secretary Fabien Villedieu describes it as a big strike over pay, jobs and working conditions.

SNCF reported first-half net profit of €1.18 billion (about US$1.3 billion) in July. The strike falls a day before the planned Nov. 6 inaugural run of the new TGV M train from Paris to Marseille, with the transport minister, Philippe Tabarot, and SNCF’s chief executive, Jean Castex, expected on board.

In primary schools, teachers must declare their strike 48 hours ahead. If at least a quarter of a school’s teachers declare, the local commune (town authority) must run a basic care service for pupils.

RATP, which operates Paris metro and buses, had issued no official strike notice for Nov. 5 in the latest reports we found. SNCF had not yet published its traffic forecast.

Where the Protest Wave Stands

France’s Interior Ministry counted about 550,000 protesters on Saturday, Oct. 17, and 410,000 on Saturday, Oct. 24, while unions gave higher figures. The Oct. 24 protests brought 1,314 arrests and 53 injured police and gendarmes, the Interior Ministry said.

We covered the Oct. 31 protest day and the Molotov attack on police separately. Interior Ministry figures for Oct. 31 are not confirmed here.

The government has said Parcoursup, the national university admissions platform, will be replaced for the 2028 admissions round. Student groups say they are not convinced.

Paris also ordered a 23:00 to 06:00 curfew around the Place de la République and the Châtelet–Les Halles district over the Halloween weekend. Minors without an adult faced a 21:00 curfew.

What Prediction Markets Say

Polymarket, a crypto-based prediction platform, prices the chance that Lecornu leaves office by Dec. 31, 2026 at 16.5%, with about US$370,000 traded (as of 4:22 p.m. ET, Nov. 2). A separate Polymarket market on the next French presidential election has Marine Le Pen at 40.4%.

These prices are bets, not polls, and none of them is about the strike itself. We found no poll by a named institute on support for the strike.

Why we show this: prediction markets turn real-money bets into a live probability that moves within minutes of the news, which is why investors, campaigns and newsrooms in the United States now follow them closely. We show them next to polls and official results, never instead of them.

What It Means for US Readers

Paris is six hours ahead of New York now that both clocks have changed, so Thursday morning in Paris arrives in the middle of the night on the US East Coast. Travellers with Paris or Marseille trips that week should check the SNCF app, since SNCF had not yet published its forecast.

A long strike would add pressure on a government that is already weighing its 2027 budget. A short one would suggest the protest wave is running out of steam.

What Is Not Known

No official start hour for the strike was found. SNCF’s train list and the scale of cancellations will not be known until its forecast appears.

We could not confirm a fourth Saturday of protest, whether other unions or sectors will join, or the size of Oct. 31 turnout from an official count.

Sources

Sources: union and SNCF statements, French Interior Ministry figures, French transport and education authorities, Polymarket (as of 4:22 p.m. ET, Nov. 2).

This article was drafted with automated assistance and reviewed before publication. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief

Frequently Asked Questions

When is the French nationwide strike?

Five union confederations called it for Thursday, Nov. 5. In US terms, the day begins at 6 p.m. ET on Wednesday, Nov. 4.

Will trains run on Nov. 5?

The four main SNCF unions have called a strike affecting TGV, Intercités and TER trains. SNCF had not published its forecast as of Nov. 2.

Why are French unions striking?

They oppose the government’s 2027 budget plan and want action on wages, jobs and public services. The CGT wants the strike to continue beyond one day.

Is there a prediction market on this?

Not on the strike itself. Polymarket prices Lecornu leaving office by Dec. 31, 2026 at 16.5%.