Maltese Traders and Travellers Feel French ‘Day of Anger’ Fallout as Strikes Threaten Summer Season

**Maltese in France Caught in Crossfire as Macron Faces Day of ‘Anger’**

Valletta – While Malta slept through a quiet Wednesday night, Maltese expatriates living in France woke to the sound of sirens and shuttered Métro stations as the country ground to a halt in the largest wave of strikes since President Emmanuel Macron pushed through his controversial pension reform. From Paris to Marseille, bins overflowed, flights were axed and schools closed, but for the 1,200-odd Maltese registered with the embassy in Paris the disruption felt closer to home than the 1,400 km distance suggests.

“I had a flight booked to come back for my nanna’s 80th in Żejtun this weekend,” said 28-year-old UX designer Kim Borg, speaking from a packed Gare du Nord where the 09:05 to Brussels was cancelled. “Air Malta sent a text at 3 a.m. saying the return leg is grounded. Now I’m scrambling for a seat via Frankfurt and praying the connections hold.”

The strikes, dubbed by unions the “Journée de la Colère” (Day of Anger), are the latest chapter in a months-long tug-of-war over Macron’s decision to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64. While the reform has already been signed into law, the left-wing CGT and hard-line FO unions hope mass mobilisation will force a U-turn before the measure takes effect in September. Analysts warn the stand-off could spill into the peak summer tourist season—bad news for Malta’s hotels and Air Malta, which rely heavily on French visitors.

France is Malta’s third-largest tourism market after Italy and the UK. In 2022, 185,000 French tourists spent €173 million on the islands, according to Malta Tourism Authority data. With school holidays starting next month, operators here are watching nervously. “We’ve already had 40 cancellations from Lyon and Nice this week,” revealed Bernard Grech, head of sales at a St Julian’s boutique hotel. “If the strikes continue, we could lose 15% of July revenue.”

The Malta Chamber of Commerce has urged members to diversify marketing towards Germany and Scandinavia, but last-minute pivots are costly. “Air Malta’s reduced schedule means fewer seats from Paris, and cargo space for our fresh fish exports is also squeezed,” explained Marthese Abela, who ships lampuki to French restaurants twice a week. “Every day of strike action costs us roughly €7,000.”

Back in France, Maltese students on Erasmus programmes found themselves improvising. “Our lecturer live-streamed from his living room because the university gates were barricaded,” laughed Hannah Cachia, a third-year law student at Sciences Po. “It’s ironic—we’re studying EU labour law while protests unfold beneath our windows.” The Maltese embassy has opened a hotline and is distributing emergency travel advice via WhatsApp, though Ambassador Marisa Farrugia insists no Maltese citizens have been injured.

The unrest resonates in Malta, where pension reform remains a hot potato. The Maltese retirement age is set to rise gradually to 65 by 2027, but unions have threatened “French-style” action if the government accelerates the timetable. “We empathise with French workers,” said GWU Secretary-General Josef Bugeja. “Pension reform must be negotiated, not imposed.” Prime Minister Robert Abela, currently in Brussels for an EU summit, declined to comment directly but told reporters Malta “respects the right to peaceful protest”.

As dusk fell on Place de la République, tens of thousands waved union flags and sang the Marseillaise. Among them, Maltese teacher Claudia Vella held a placard reading “Solidarité” in French and Maltese. “My French colleagues ask why a Maltese woman is here,” she said. “Because when workers’ rights are eroded anywhere, the ripples reach our shores too.”

Whether the strikes fizzle out or swell into a summer of discontent, one thing is clear: in an interconnected Europe, French anger is no longer a foreign affair. Maltese travellers, traders and tourists are discovering that a protest on the Seine can send waves all the way to the Mediterranean—and Malta’s economy is riding the swell.