Francois Hollande faces protest over fiscal pact Now he will understand this is not the case, that in France and in the rest of Europe there is an organised opposition to this pact and to all austerity policies. Wearing his signature red scarf, Melenchon marched at the head of protesters among giant banners bearing slogans such as "Francois Hollande, We Don't Want Your Treaty" and "In Greece and in France, Let's Fight Against Finance." It was the latest in a series of protests across southern Europe this week as tens of thousands took to streets in Spain, Italy, Greece and Portugal to voice their anger over hardship imposed by austerity policies. For Hollande, the outcry from many people who voted him into power highlights the difficulty of pleasing a largely left-wing support base even as he shuns painful cuts to welfare programmes. A 2013 budget unveiled on Friday shaves €30bn off the public deficit, largely through tax increases on big businesses and the wealthy. But it avoids the type of painful austerity measures imposed elsewhere in Europe. Efforts to preserve the generous public safety net have done little to preserve Hollande's approval rating, which has plummeted since his election, hitting a low of 43pc in one poll last week. "This treaty will considerably worsen the situation in the European Union and in France," said one protester, Pierre Khalfa. We can already see that austerity policies in Europe are leading to recession, so we need to start a movement against these policies, which will lead our country into a wall. Left Front organisers said some 40,000 people joined the Paris protest. Police declined to provide an estimate.