By Yohan Taillandier 19 January 2026 0 Comments
This week (19–25 January 2026), social unrest continued to spread across Europe, from Parisian museums to German motorways and Belgian railways. Workers across the continent went on strike to defend their wages, working hours, and already overstretched public services. Actions are increasingly interconnected: closures, road blockades, and strike notices are piling up. Looking towards the end of January, further conflicts have already been announced, with new walkouts planned in the transport and cultural sectors.
Western Europe: culture, transport, and healthcare
Germany – Motorways and public services: warning strike on 20 January
The website VisaHQ reports in its article “National strike on the Autobahn: major tunnel closures and massive traffic jams across Germany” (19 January 2026) on a 24‑hour warning strike launched by the ver.di union at Autobahn GmbH, the federal motorway operator. On the morning of 20 January, several key tunnels and bridges were closed, causing gridlock and disrupting both commuters and road freight. Around 14,000 Autobahn GmbH employees and several thousand staff from regional road authorities took part.
Ver.di is demanding a 7% wage increase, or at least €300 per month for the lowest‑paid workers, citing persistent inflation and a tight labour market. Management has dismissed these demands as “unaffordable” under current budget constraints. The union warns that, if no agreement is reached at the next bargaining round on 27 January, a series of rotating tunnel and bridge closures could follow, signalling a likely escalation by the end of the month.
France – Louvre Museum: strike continues, third closure on Monday 19 January
The newspaper La Croix reports in “Grève au Louvre : troisième fermeture du musée ce lundi” (18 January 2026) that the Louvre remained closed on Monday 19 January – the third closure since industrial action began on 15 December 2025. Staff, in particular security supervisors, unanimously voted to continue the strike, refusing to return to work until demands on pay and working conditions are met.
The museum’s official website confirmed an “exceptional closure”, with all tickets automatically refunded. Trade unions (CFDT, CGT, Sud) denounce deteriorating working conditions following a security incident on 19 October, as well as a persistent pay gap compared to other Ministry of Culture employees. Their slogan sums it up: “Equal pay for equal work.”
Belgium – SNCB and TEC: five‑day strike (26–30 January)
Belgian outlet RTL Info, in its article “La SNCB et le Tec frappent fort : cinq jours de grève dès ce lundi” (22 January 2026), announces a five‑day national rail strike. Trains will be halted from Sunday at 10 p.m. until Friday at 10 p.m., while regional public transport in Wallonia (TEC) will also be heavily disrupted.
The five rail unions (CGSP‑Cheminots, ACOD‑Spoor, ACV‑Transcom, etc.) protest against the deterioration of the public rail service and a draft reform bill they see as a move towards liberalisation and austerity. They point out that government objectives – increasing train services by 10% and passenger numbers by 30% by 2032, while cutting €675 million – are fundamentally “contradictory”. Further cross‑sector strikes, involving both private and public sector workers, are already being discussed for February.
Central and Eastern Europe: redundancies and logistics
Slovakia – Public broadcasting: mass layoffs at STVR
In Slovakia, public broadcaster STVR is entering a period of high tension after announcing layoffs affecting around 5% of its workforce (about 80 employees). Management claims the cuts follow a 2025 audit aimed at “stabilising finances” and “modernising” the organisation. However, in its “PSM Weekly | 14–20 January 2026” briefing (19 January 2026), the Public Media Alliance stresses that these redundancies come after a series of attempts by the government to tighten its grip on public media. Reporters Without Borders has warned of a possible “political purge disguised as restructuring”.
Unions and editorial staff fear that critical journalists could be targeted first. For now, the response has mainly taken the form of public statements, petitions, and calls for mobilisation, rather than full‑scale strikes. But a sharper social conflict is expected when the layoffs are implemented in February.
Balkans – Truck drivers to protest EES system at EU borders
In the Western Balkans, road transport organisations from Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, and Montenegro have announced a coordinated blockade of EU border terminals on 26 January. As reported by European Western Balkans in “Truck drivers from WB countries plan to block EU border terminals on 26 January” (23 January 2026), they are protesting against the new Schengen Entry/Exit System (EES).
The EES is a digital system that systematically registers third‑country nationals each time they cross the EU’s external borders. Drivers’ associations argue that it creates bottlenecks, lengthens border checks, and increases uncertainty over permitted stay durations – directly affecting income and working time. Some representatives even accuse the EU of trying to “drain” the region of its most qualified drivers to fill labour shortages within the Union.
Common ground and outlook
The common thread running through these struggles is very concrete: wages are no longer keeping up with the cost of living. Whether at the Louvre or on Balkan border crossings, the same sentence keeps coming back: “We can’t make ends meet anymore.” In public services, this anger is amplified by chronic understaffing, constant restructuring, and the feeling of being asked to do more with fewer resources.
The European 3% deficit rule is no longer just a technocratic benchmark; it shows up in everyday life through job cuts in hospitals, budget cuts in culture, and austerity in rail services. As long as this rule remains untouchable, governments will go on arguing that they “have no choice” when they cut spending or refuse pay rises.
The issue is therefore no longer just social; it is political. What kind of future do Europe’s leaders want? If they cling to the 3% dogma and austerity logic, conflicts will multiply, sector by sector, country by country. Rethinking these rules would mean recognising that social and democratic stability matters more than a few decimal points of deficit. For a genuine recovery, the European economy needs better‑paid, better‑protected workers – not just better figures on a Eurostat spreadsheet.
Sources:
- La Croix – “Strike at the Louvre: third closure of the museum on Monday” (18 January 2026):
https://www.la-croix.com/culture/greve-au-louvre-troisieme-fermeture-du-musee-ce-lundi-20260119 - Going out in Paris – “Strike at the Louvre: the museum will remain closed on Monday, 19 January 2026” (18 January 2026):
https://www.sortiraparis.com/actualites/a-paris/articles/339154-greve-au-louvre-le-musee-reste-ferme-ce-lundi-19-janvier-2026 - Ouest-France – “Due to a strike, the Louvre Museum is closed again this Monday” (19 January 2026):
https://www.ouest-france.fr/culture/musees/en-raison-dune-greve-le-musee-du-louvre-est-de-nouveau-ferme-ce-lundi-6f8b47be-f526-1 - Le Figaro – “Third day of strikes at the Louvre in a month, so…” (19 January 2026):
https://www.lefigaro.fr/culture/greve-au-louvre-le-musee-de-nouveau-ferme-ce-lundi-20260119 - L’Est Républicain – “Paris. ‘The museum is closed today’: the Louvre closed again on Monday after the strike vote…” (18 January 2026):
https://www.estrepublicain.fr/culture-loisirs/2026/01/19/le-musee-n-ouvre-pas-aujourd-hui-le-louvre-de-nouveau-ferme-ce-lundi-ap - VisaHQ – “National strike on the motorway: major tunnel closures and massive traffic jams across Germany” (19 January 2026):
https://www.visahq.com/fr/news/2026-01-20/de/nation-wide-autobahn-strike-shutters-key-tunnels-and-snarls-road-traffic-across-ger - RTL Info – “SNCB and Tec launch a major offensive: five days of strikes starting on Monday” (22 January 2026):
https://www.rtl.be/actu/belgique/la-sncb-et-le-tec-attaquent-en-force-5-jours-de-greve-des-ce-lundi/2026-01-22/article/777399 - VisaHQ – “Five-day rail strike looms at end of January” (2 January 2026):
https://www.visahq.com/fr/news/2026-01-03/be/five-day-rail-strike-looms-for-late-january-threatening-belgian-commuter-and-cargo - TASR – “STVR to Cut 5 per cent of Workforce in February as Part of Streamlining” (8 January 2026):
https://www.tasr.sk/tasr-clanok/TASR:2026010800000334 - Interez – “Major cuts at STVR: Management announces redundancies, approximately 5 per cent of employees will lose their jobs following audit” (7 January 2026):
https://www.interez.sk/velke-skrty-v-stvr-vedenie-oznamilo-prepustanie-po-audite-pride-o-pracu-priblizne-5-percent-zamestnancov/ - European Western Balkans – “Truck drivers from WB countries plan to block EU border terminals on 26 January” (23 January 2026):
https://europeanwesternbalkans.com/2026/01/23/truck-drivers-from-wb-countries-plan-to-block-eu-border-terminals-on-26-january/
