What’s happening in France this week

Monday

Political horse-trading – newly-appointed prime minister Sébastien Lecornu continues the painstaking process of trying to assemble a government, and it is expected that this week he will continue consultations with opposition politicians, unions and business leaders. He faces a deadline – at least the outline of a deal must be agreed before he is due to address the parliament on October 2nd, while unions have issued an ultimatum for Wednesday.

Ballon d’Or – the annual awards for the world’s best footballers will be judged in Paris on Monday evening.

Tuesday

Foire aux vins – wine sales begin on Tuesday in Aldi, Magasins Système U and Carrefour hypermarchés. Other supermarket chains have already begun their sales, while wine caves and online retailers have staggered dates. Find the full list of dates here. 

Wednesday

Union ultimatum – Following the success of the September 18th strikes and demos, the intersyndicale union organisation has announced that is giving prime minister Sébastien Lecornu until September 24th to respond to their concerns. If they do not get a satisfactory response, they will announce further strike action – although any strike dates are likely to be next week or the week after.

Thursday

Tax payments – if your annual income tax declaration resulted in you owing money to the French taxman, payment will be taken on September 25th. If you have provided correct bank details to the tax office, the money will be debited from your account without you having to do anything – if you owe less then €300 it will be taken in one go, if you owe more than €300 the total will be divided by four and taken in instalments on September 25th, October 27th, November 27th and December 29th.

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Sarkozy verdict – a verdict is expected from the Paris courts in the trial of former French president Nicolas Sarkozy and his co-defendants, who are accused of accepting illegal campaign financing from Libya. The allegation – strongly denied – that he entered into a corrupt pact with Libyan dictator Mouammar Kadhafi in exchange for funding for his 2007 presidential bid is the most serious of the ex-premier’s legal troubles.

Friday

Farmer protests – the largest farming union, the FNSEA, has called a ‘day of action’ to protest at what it describes as the abandonment of agriculture by the government. The union secretary says that the day will involve protests in front of supermarkets and government offices, but not mass roadblocks as in previous farmer protests.

Saturday

Pharmacy strikes – pharmacists’ unions have called for strike action every Saturday, starting on September 27th. During the September 18th strike day, 90 percent of French pharmacies closed. Although the turnout will likely be a little less, there will probably be some pharmacies closed on Saturday. 

Cup final – the final of the women’s rugby world cup will be held in England. It’s a double-header at Twickenham (or the Allianz Stadium as it insists on calling itself these days), with the bronze final at 1.30pm and the final itself at 5pm (French time). Both matches will be screened on TF1 in France.

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