Demonstrators hold a banner which reads "No to the austerity, yes to the social Europe" during a rally in Paris on September 30, 2012 against the austerity measures announced by the French government.
Thousands of people have taken to the streets in the French capital Paris to express their outrage at the European Union’s fiscal pact and government’s plans for further spending cuts.
More than 80,000 protesters marched through central Paris on Sunday, chanting slogans against imposed austerity and belt-tightening policies.
The demonstration comes before the French parliament's debate this week on a European fiscal treaty.
The treaty will help the establishment of European Stability Mechanism bailout fund.
European leaders expect the fund to appease the on-going Eurozone sovereign debt crisis, which has shaken financial markets both within and outside the monetary union.
France’s main conservative opposition party and most Socialist lawmakers support the treaty. Far-left parties, the Greens and some dissident Socialists, however, oppose it.
Socialist President Francois Hollande -- who was elected in the spring -- suffers a great deal of political pressure and his popularity has been declining according to recent surveys.
MP/AZ
