French protesters were on Thursday staging a day of nationwide disruption in a show of anger over President Emmanuel Macron’s budget policies, with mass protests expected, transport chaos and clashes between police and demonstrators.

Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu, Macron’s seventh head of government, took office last week, vowing a break from the past against the background of an ongoing political crisis.

But the appointment of the former defence minister has failed to assuage the anger of unions and the left.

They remain incensed about the draft 44-billion-euro ($52-billion) cost-saving budget of his predecessor Francois Bayrou, despite Lecornu’s pledges to abolish both the life-long privileges of prime ministers and a widely detested plan to scrap two public holidays.

With unions

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