French diplomats go on strike over Macron reforms

French diplomats have gone on strike in protests at reforms being championed by President Emmanuel Macron.

The global envoys say proposed changes reveal a perceived lack of recognition and could hurt France’s global standing.

The rare industrial action is the first time in 20 years the diplomats have gone on strike.

Hundreds of diplomatic staff at home and abroad, including some ambassadors, took part in the action. Many posted on social media to show support, using the hashtag #Diplo2metier (professional diplomat).

“Defending the interests of France and serving France is not improvised,” France’s Consul General in San Francisco wrote on Twitter. “No doubt we need to reform and strengthen our diplomacy, but not to erase it,” said the diplomat of 18 years.

Strikers are protesting against public sector reforms initiated by Macron that would change the structure of diplomatic careers. But they are also concerned about years of budget cuts that have seen staffing fall some 20 per cent since 2007.

“There is a fatigue in the face of continuing pressure from the international and European news, which means we are always being asked to do more when we have fewer means,” said a senior diplomat in Paris.

France has the world’s third-largest diplomatic network with some 1,800 diplomats and about 13,500 officials working at the foreign ministry.

With agencies