Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to take to the streets across France on Thursday as trade unions stage nationwide strikes alongside student-led demonstrations that have rocked the country for weeks.
The protests come as the eurozone’s second-largest economy struggles to address its public finances, barely six months before elections to replace centrist President Emmanuel Macron, with the far right leading in opinion polls.
The demonstrations, initially driven by high school students protesting poor learning conditions, have coincided with growing public anger over the rising cost of living and widening inequality. The discontent culminated on October 17 in some of the worst riots France has witnessed in recent years.
“We should be able to make a decent living from our jobs,” CFDT union Secretary-General Marylise Leon said on BFM television, directing her appeal at both the government and employers.
The unions are demanding an increase in the minimum wage, which has not received a discretionary boost since 2012, general salary increases, tax reforms and improved learning conditions for young people.
Authorities estimate that between 500,000 and 700,000 people could participate in demonstrations nationwide on Thursday, with up to 80,000 expected to march in Paris from 2:00 pm (1300 GMT).
The unions are hoping for a turnout comparable to the demonstrations against France’s pension reform in 2023, which attracted more than one million protesters.
Firm security response
Public and private education unions have called for strike action, alongside labour organisations representing railway workers, public hospital employees and postal workers.
Rail services have already experienced some disruption, with passengers reporting delays and cancellations.
At Montparnasse railway station in Paris, a psychologist who identified herself as Jeanne said her journey had been delayed by the industrial action.
“It’s tedious to get up early, wait, and then see your train cancelled, but it’s understandable there’s a strike,” she said.
Interior Minister Laurent Nunez announced on Wednesday that 70,000 police officers and security personnel would be deployed nationwide to maintain order.
He warned that authorities would adopt “an extremely firm response” to any acts of violence or public disorder.
Meanwhile, groups of high school students staged demonstrations in several cities.
In Paris, police fired tear gas to prevent protesters from blocking access to the Helene-Boucher high school, according to an AFP reporter at the scene.
Although most demonstrations have remained peaceful, some have degenerated into clashes between protesters and security forces, prompting the use of tear gas and water cannon to disperse crowds.
An attempted murder investigation was also launched after petrol bombs were thrown at security personnel in Paris on Saturday.
Police response draws criticism
The security response to the demonstrations has attracted criticism, with protesters and rights groups accusing police of using excessive force.
Internal police investigations have been launched into allegations of brutality against demonstrators.
Several teenage protesters have reportedly sustained serious injuries, while thousands of people have been arrested.
Authorities have also acknowledged security and intelligence failures that contributed to the violence, large-scale looting and vandalism of public property witnessed during the unrest that erupted on October 17.
On Wednesday, the Paris police prefecture banned a major protest route, replacing it with an approved alternative running eastwards, away from the city centre.
Several unions condemned the restrictions, describing them as an attempt to undermine the right to peaceful demonstration.
In the southern city of Toulouse, a union source said protesters would still demonstrate in the city centre despite a court decision upholding a police ban on the proposed route.
Fabrice Fort of the CGT union said public support for the student movement remained strong, while growing restrictions on civil liberties were fuelling further discontent.
“We can feel a cumulative effect: public sympathy for the high school and university students’ movement is not waning, and people are questioning restrictions on liberties, especially bans on demonstrations,” he said.
“This has sparked a wake-up call among people who usually don’t speak out much,” he added.
Similar youth-led demonstrations have emerged in other European countries in recent weeks, including Denmark, Germany and Italy, amid growing concerns over economic conditions, inequality and the future facing younger generations.
AFP
