French unions said today they would keep up pressure on President Nicolas Sarkozy after up to three million people joined protests over the economic crisis.
But the unions held off deciding on a possible new round of strikes until a meeting planned for March 30th.
The turnout at a day of rallies and demonstrations in cities across France yesterday was the largest at any protest since Mr Sarkozy's election in May 2007. The demonstrators challenged the government's response to the crisis.
Representatives from eight unions told a news conference that while they had yet to decide on how they would proceed, they were united in their will to make their voices heard.
"What counts in today's message is the affirmation by all unions that there will be a united follow-up to yesterday's movement," said Maryse Dumas, second-in-charge at the powerful CGT trade union.
Union officials said they would hold internal meetings before March 30th, when they hoped to arrive at a decision.
Speaking in Brussels at the close of the European Union summit, Mr Sarkozy said the protests in France underscored the worries of some employees, but that national action could not provide any response to the global crisis.
"My role is not to comment one day on worries, another on protests and a third on opinion polls. My role is to take decisions and to obtain results," he told reporters.