France Protests: Nearly 1,000 Arrested as 410,000 March and Unions Call November 5 Strike

France saw another weekend of mass demonstrations on Saturday, with the Interior Ministry saying 410,000 people marched across the country while unions put the figure as high as 800,000. Police arrested nearly 1,000 people as riot squads fired tear gas in Paris, Marseille, Lyon, Bordeaux, Lille, Toulouse, Montpellier and Nantes, and two people were seriously injured.
Authorities had deployed 70,000 security forces for the marches, called to protest the cost of living and defend public services. The huge operation helped avoid a repeat of the looting and vandalism that swept many cities on October 17, when 2,700 people were arrested. In Paris, where shops boarded up windows and the Louvre closed for the day, the main march passed off largely peacefully before clashes broke out as crowds dispersed.
Protest leaders say the movement is only growing. Labour unions have called for further rallies next Saturday, October 31, and a nationwide strike on November 5, arguing that anger over wages and living costs now stretches far beyond the student protests that began last month. With President Emmanuel Macron's mandate expiring next April and strained public finances leaving him little room to offer concessions, France faces a tense run-up to a presidential election in six months.
Source: read more
Comments
Post a Comment