This Thursday, September 18, a national strike at the call of the intersyndicale (CFDT, CGT, FO, CFE-CGC, CFTC, UNSA, FSU, Solidaires) should strongly disturb the country, eight days after the “Block everything” movement. Transport is announced on the front line: at SNCF, CGT-Cheminots, UNSA, South-Rail and the CFDT call to cease work, as in RATP where the four main unions, representing 90 % of agents, target massive mobilization. In the air, controllers and pilots will not strike, but FO and the CFDT call for mobilization at Air France, while FO-INV asks the VTC drivers to “Disconnect”.
National education will also be strongly affected, the FSU, FO, UNSA, the CFDT, the CGT and South calling for teachers and personal to join the movement. Pharmacists, angry with the drop in generic remuneration, provide for an almost total day of closure of pharmacies, supported by all their federations; Prefects may have to requisition. The physiotherapists (FFMKR) also announce the closure of their firms, outside vital emergencies.
Finally, electricians and gas, already mobilized since September 4, will continue their strike with the CGT, demanding increases in wages and lowering VAT on energy. The resigning minister of transport Philippe Tabarot warns: Thursday will be “Most probably black”. The intelligence services fear, “Public order disorders”.
2 – Sébastien Lecornu receives Éric Ciotti in Matignon
On this day of strong mobilization, Prime Minister, Sébastien Lecornu, released his agenda on Thursday, September 18 to follow “Up close” demonstrations. However, he will receive Éric Ciotti, president of the UDR, as part of his interviews with the officials of the opposition parties.
Today, Wednesday, September 17, the Head of Government welcomed the representatives of the PS, RN, environmentalists and communists in Matignon in Matignon for consultations for both the composition of the future government and the development of the budget. At the end of this meeting, the first secretary of the PS, Olivier Faure, said he stayed “Hungry”believing that the Prime Minister had remained “Very blurred” on his intentions.
3 – Donald Trump is visiting state in the United Kingdom
Tomorrow, Thursday September 18 will mark the highest point of Donald Trump’s state visit to the United Kingdom. After a very high security visit to the castle of Windsor, where he met King Charles III the day before, the American president will go to Chequers, an official residence located 70 km from London, for a political and economic interview with the Prime Minister Keir Starmer. This meeting must in particular allow “to refine” the trade agreement concluded in May between Washington and London, while Trump insists on his desire to strengthen the “special relationship” between the two countries.
The entire stay is placed under an unprecedented security system since the coronation of Charles III: barriers around Windsor, drones, elite shooters, river patrols and close cooperation between MI5 and American services, authorized to carry firearms to British soil. At 79, Donald Trump carefully avoids London and the public, deemed too sensitive after the hostile demonstrations organized upon his arrival.
The Labor Government relies on the royal splendor and the Fascination of the American president for the monarchy in order to consolidate the transatlantic links. For Keir Starmer, this Thursday meeting also represents the opportunity to divert attention from the tense social climate and highlight its successes on the international scene.
4 – Bayeux tapestry folding
On September 18 will begin the perilous extraction of the Bayeux tapestry, the first step before its loan to the British Museum in 2026. Venished from nearly a millennium, linen embroidery is considered intransportable: it presents more than 24,000 spots, 16,000 folds, 9,600 holes and thirty non -stabilized tears. The slightest handling error could cause irreversible damage.
To supervise this delicate operation, Emmanuel Macron appointed Philippe Bélaval, his former culture advisor, special representative, in tandem with British diplomat Peter Ricketts. Like General Georgelin for Notre-Dame, Bélaval must “Make the impossible possible”. Two 2021 and 2022 reports were not recommended for any movement. The extraction will mobilize around twenty professionals: eight graduates of the National Heritage Institute or Paris 1, Conservatives, Museum Technicians and DRAC agents.
All will then have to consider long stays in Great Britain, with a “Business Plan” still uncertain about their costs and working conditions. The operation is already compared to sending the Mona Lisa to the United States by De Gaulle in 1963, a symbol of a risky cultural and diplomatic bet.
5 – The good news of the day
Wednesday September 17, 2025 marks the kick -off of the World Cleanup Day, the largest citizen and environmental mobilization on the planet. Until September 21, citizens, associations, companies, communities and schools are called upon to come together everywhere in France to combat abandoned waste. The stake is immense: each year, almost a million tonnes end in the wild, the equivalent of 200 million poubelle bags. In 2024, more than 140,000 French people participated, joining 23 million volunteers in 190 countries.
The 2025 objective: beat this record and show that collective action can reverse the trend. Plastics, butts, tires or cans pollute floors, rivers and oceans and directly threaten biodiversity. Picking up is not enough, but constitutes an effective way to make everyone aware of the reduction of waste. In 2025, the initiative wanted to prove that the united French company can make millions of waste from its streets, forests, beaches and oceans disappear.
