Fresh protests across France
A coalition of the “Yellow Vests” movement, trade unions and students will march across France on Saturday with demands over studying conditions and purchasing power. Some 70,000 police are expected to be deployed as authorities fear looting and vandalism similar to last Saturday's unrest.
France has deployed thousands of police officers to quell protests over high living costs and school funding last weekend. Paris authorities confined the main march to the city's southeastern edge, away from the center, and used tear gas against protesters in Lyon, where the rally was prohibited. In Clermont-Ferrand, officers employed tear gas and stun grenades to prevent demonstrators from approaching the city center.
Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez pledged up to 70,000 officers nationwide, supported by helicopters, armored vehicles, and water cannons.
The unrest commenced as a protest against insufficient staffing at a high school outside Paris, but it has evolved into a nationwide movement involving students and workers demanding improved schools, higher wages, and pension benefits. President Emmanuel Macron met with high school representatives on Friday, who expressed gratitude for his promise to overhaul university admissions but demanded further action.
Over 500,000 people participated in demonstrations last Saturday, resulting in the damage or looting of around 3,000 shops and the closure of major museums, including the Louvre and Picasso Museum.
Authorities in Paris modified the protest route on Friday, shifting it from Bastille to Porte d’Italie to Porte de Vincennes. Negotiations in Bastille saw police urging participants to vacate or face fines of 135 euros ($150). Soumaya Abed, a 58-year-old nurse and long-time protest attendee, criticized the change, stating that Paris authorities were attempting to suppress dissent.
Despite protests planned in Paris and Marseille, several other rallies, including those in Lyon, Nice, and Montpellier, have been banned by local authorities, with trade unions condemning the restrictions as violations of freedom of expression, as enshrined in the constitution.
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