French fishermen blockade ports over soaring fuel costs as budget fight looms

French fishermen blocked access to ports in southern France on Thursday in protest over high energy prices, adding to pressure on the government as it scrambles to finalise a deficit-taming 2027 budget ahead of next year's presidential election.

The blockades are the latest in a wave of protests sweeping France this week with workers from the power sector to the police striking on Tuesday over issues ranging from pay to fuel.

Fishermen blocked the port of Nice and several smaller cities on Thursday as demonstrations along the Mediterranean coast over the high cost of fuel extended into their third day.

Nice Mayor Eric Ciotti, who leads a party allied with the far-right National Rally (RN), visited the port on Thursday, offering support. "I understand their anger," he said.

Under growing pressure, Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu on Wednesday extended emergency fuel subsidies until the end of the year for the agriculture, fishing and construction sectors.

President Emmanuel Macron convened a rare meeting of party chiefs on Friday to discuss the situations in the Middle East and Ukraine and the consequences for energy markets.

Budget tightrope

The energy price crisis complicates the government's task of finalising its 2027 budget, which it is due to present at the end of the month to France's deeply divided parliament amid a bond market selloff that has pushed French borrowing rates to their highest level since 2008.

Finance Minister Roland Lescure acknowledged last Friday that fallout from the Middle East crisis meant the government would miss its fiscal deficit target this year and is struggling to come up with spending cuts that opposition parties can stomach.

Ministers were consulting with most parties on Thursday and Friday as the government seeks to craft a budget bill that has a chance of getting passed in parliament, where Lecornu's two predecessors were toppled over previous budgets.

However, Socialist lawmakers have ruled out giving their support as they did for the 2026 budget, potentially leaving the fate of the 2027 budget in the hands of the RN, whose leader Marine Le Pen is frontrunner in the polls for next year's April-May two-round presidential election.

Le Pen said on Wednesday that the RN, the biggest party in the lower house but without a majority, would vote against the budget if it included mooted plans to not raise pensions in line with inflation to save money.

"In any case, there is a very strong likelihood that I will vote against the budget because I disagree with all of the policies that the budget actually reflects," she said on LCI television.

However, she stopped short of ruling out abstaining, saying she would first examine the bill and added that an imperfect budget was better than none at all.

(FRANCE 24 with Reuters)