France gears up for May Day protests, in first test for newly reelected Macron

Cost of living was the main theme in the presidential election campaign, and looks set to be equally prominent ahead of June legislative election

Like quite a few on the left, 60-year-old nurse assistant Isabelle-Touria Boumhi says backing either Emmanuel Macron or Marine Le Pen in France's presidential runoff last Sunday would have been choosing "between the plague and cholera."

She did not vote. Instead, she is preparing to take part in May Day protests this coming Sunday.

And, in what could foreshadow what a newly re-elected Mr. Macron may expect when he presses ahead with pro-business reforms, including a plan to push back retirement age, Ms. Boumhi says she will take to the streets as often as needed to block this.

"It's the only path we have left to obtain something," said the single mother, who, with a gross salary of just under 2,000 euros (₹1,61,368) that she needs to house and feed her and her 22-year-old daughter, who is a student, must count every cent.

"I used to allow myself something extra once in a while, but now, once I've paid the electricity bill, the rent...I would struggle to go on holidays."

The cost of living was the main theme in the presidential election campaign and looks set to be equally prominent ahead of June legislative elections that Mr. Macron's party and its allies must win if he is to be able to implement his policies.

His current government put together price caps on gas and electricity price increases and he has promised further steps, including increasing pensions, to try and protect consumers' purchasing power amid a steep rise in prices.