Hundreds of demonstrations are taking place across France on Saturday, with trade unions, self-described "yellow vest" activists and large numbers of students taking part in actions against the cost of living and rising fuel prices. The French government increased security measures before the day of protest, according to Euronews.com, amid concerns about possible clashes and public disorder.
Riot police were already called in during the morning in Marseille, in southern France, after demonstrators set bins and electric scooters on fire. Shops around the country have put boards over their windows to guard against looting or vandalism.
A source close to France's Interior Ministry told Euronews.com that about 500 actions and roughly 90 protests are anticipated nationwide, with authorities preparing for potential violence in Paris and other major cities. The same source said the far-left movement could try to provoke confrontations with police and attempt to break through security perimeters along protest routes, and warned that blockades of key transport routes and essential infrastructure would "not be tolerated."
Why it matters
The scale of Saturday's mobilisation matters because it brings together several strands of discontent at once: household costs, fuel prices, and four weeks of student demonstrations over conditions in schools. Euronews.com reports that the protests follow those student actions, which have focused on teacher absences, overcrowded classrooms and outdated facilities. Most student protests have been peaceful, but there have been clashes involving rioters, along with widespread criticism of alleged police brutality.
The day also comes as the government tries to push a budget containing austerity measures through a hung parliament, while managing a major public debt crisis. There has been speculation that the 17 October demonstration could signal the return of the yellow vest grassroots movement, which first appeared in 2018 in response to a planned government fuel and diesel tax increase. For months, yellow vest protesters gathered every weekend to block roundabouts, motorways and fuel depots, and tense clashes with police occurred.
Macron calls for calm as injury figures mount
President Emmanuel Macron said on Friday that the right to protest "is fully respected," but that it "must be accompanied by respect for people and property." He added: "That is why I call for calm and respect: these rights must be preserved."
Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said on Thursday that 937 police officers and gendarmes had been injured since the protests began. He also reported injuries among 248 students and 149 teaching staff members, which he said was the highest number of injuries ever recorded by France's Education Ministry. Lecornu warned that the "secondary school student movement" was turning into a "wave of urban violence."
Police have faced growing scrutiny in recent weeks over several allegations of violence. In one case, a 15-year-old schoolboy allegedly lost an eye after being struck by a police rubber bullet. In another, a 14-year-old reportedly lost his hand after picking up a police stun grenade. The circumstances of both cases remain under investigation. After the second case, France suspended the use of certain types of stun grenades.
Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said in an interview on Friday that stun grenades would be permitted on 17 October if "serious urban violence" breaks out alongside demonstrations, noting that such devices are "never used when things are going well." Nuñez told the French Senate on Tuesday that 36 investigations had been opened into alleged police violence during student protests. Four of those cases involved mutilating injuries and six involved significant injuries, he said, while the rest concerned alleged blows, insults and reported sexual violence.
Police union to file complaint over "contradictory orders"
Alliance Police Nationale, one of France's largest police unions, said in a statement on Tuesday that it would lodge a complaint against the state "for endangering the lives of others." The union criticised what it described as "contradictory orders" given to officers, who it said had been "exposed to violence and left at the mercy of public hostility" during the secondary school protests.
"After the president's expressions of empathy towards rioters and emphasis on dialogue, we are now faced with vague instructions, contradictory orders and superficial public statements!" the union said. It added that the gap between Nuñez's public statements and the verbal instructions passed down through the chain of command had become "unbearable."
The hard-left France Unbowed party has been accused by the government and political opponents of encouraging violence and fuelling unrest through inflammatory language. In a speech on 30 September, party leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon urged supporters to "stand up to police brutality," adding that "there will be neither forgetting nor forgiveness for anyone." He later qualified his remarks, saying he backed peaceful protest methods.
One man who flew into Paris from the United States on Friday told Euronews.com he was "supportive" of peaceful protests. "People have the right to protest, but peacefully," he said, adding that the "people in charge need to find some solutions."
What to watch next: whether the Paris demonstrations stay peaceful through the day, how police apply the rules on stun grenades, and whether the turnout revives the yellow vest movement as a sustained force.
