HUNDREDS of thousands of protesters took the streets of France today to maintain the pressure on the country’s new prime minister, Sebastien Lecornu, to abandon his budget cuts and to demand a wealth tax on the super-rich.

The trade union led protests come as Mr Lecornu has yet to appoint a new government after being appointed on September 9 after his predecessor, Francois Bayrou was ousted after losing a no-confidence vote in the country’s National Assembly.

Mr Lecornu’s unprecedented delay in announcing a new cabinet has added to the anger of opposition parties and trade unions.

There were about 240 marches in towns and cities across France with large parts of the country’s transport and many schools closed by the strikes.

Some protesters occupied Tesla's HQ in Saint-Ouen-sur-Seine in the northern suburbs of Paris to protest against tax dodging by the rich.

The iconic Eiffel Tower was also closed to the public by the strike.

“Following today’s national inter-union call, a general assembly of Eiffel Tower employees was held this morning. A large majority of workers voted in favour of the strike,” the CGT Eiffel Tower union said in a statement to AFP.

Students carrying flares blocked the entrance to a secondary school in Paris, with police at the scene.

Other protests were planned in Paris and other cities including Dijon, Metz, Poitiers and Montpellier.

Aurelie Gagnier, the co-general secretary of the FSU-SNUipp education union, told France Info that there was a “lack of political clarity” in France and said that there was widespread support “for more tax justice and social justice.”

CGT secretary general Sophie Binet told BFM TV: “First of all, what we want to know is who the government will be.

“And then we want to know what the budget will be, and if there are any setbacks in the budget, obviously we won't let it pass.”