Strikes and marches against budget cuts cause disruption across France, with 94 arrests – Europe live

<p>Up to 800,000 people are expected to protest over public services and wages, a week after the appointment of prime minister Sébastien Lecornu</p><ul><li><p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/sep/18/people-in-france-share-your-views-of-thursdays-nationwide-strike">People in France: share your views on the strike</a></p></li><li><p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/sep/18/france-strikes-day-sebastien-lecornu-emmanuel-macron-politics">Full report: France’s biggest strike in years under way amid political crisis</a></p></li></ul><p>I am keeping an eye on the EU’s midday briefing just now, but there is <strong>no substantial update from the EU on the 19th package of sanctions against Russia.</strong></p><p>The European Commission’s deputy chief spokesperson, <strong>Olof Gill</strong>, repeated that <strong>“we expect to present … [them] soon</strong><strong>”</strong>, as he asked journalists to “please bear with us on that”, without offering more detail.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2025/sep/18/france-strikes-lecornu-merz-sanchez-von-der-leyen-europe-live-latest-updates">Continue reading...</a>