The protests in France “against the high cost of living and in support of young people” drew significantly fewer participants today, Saturday, marking the fourth consecutive weekend of protests and following a large turnout at Thursday’s demonstration.
Organizers reported 250,000 protesters across France, including 75,000 in Paris, far fewer than the 800,000 or 500,000 who, according to the organizers, had participated on previous Saturdays.
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Authorities counted 146,000 people across France, including 46,000 in Paris, again a significant decrease compared to previous Saturdays and Thursday’s massive inter-union mobilization, which drew between 575,000 and 1.6 million people, according to various sources.
Although today’s demonstrations were largely peaceful, clashes broke out—as is often the case— at the end of the marches, where some protesters threw objects at the police, who responded with tear gas.
Today’s new mobilization aims to keep up the pressure, two days before the social dialogue with the unions and French employers’ organizations convened by the government on Monday morning and the meetings with high school and college student organizations in the afternoon.
In a letter sent yesterday to the social partners, Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu—facing an autumn marked by intense social unrest—assured them that “(he is listening to) the expectations being expressed regarding wages and purchasing power” as well as the “concerns” of employers. The dialogue will “allow for concrete responses to the expectations of the French people,” he said.
For its part, the Yellow Vests movement—a revival of a social protest movement that began in France in 2018 —called for a separate rally, which was banned by the authorities, at Place de la Concorde, near the National Assembly, but attracted only a small crowd.
— INFOS RÉVOLUTION (@Jujuukfj) November 7, 2026
Paris : Ça dégénère place de la Concorde. Tensions extrêmes et charges violentes des CRS alors que la manifestation a été interdite dans le secteur#Manifestation #France #grevegenerale #Paris #7novembre #7novembre2026 #tee_vtp #Dewtee #GMMTV #GFvip #ACTE4 #Teleton2026 pic.twitter.com/xO85dvQFUV
Approximately 70,000 police officers and gendarmes have been deployed throughout France, according to Interior Minister Laurent Nunes.
The eight main national unions have already stated that they will take a stand as early as Monday evening.
“The only thing that will stop the mobilization is a response to the demands that have been voiced for weeks by workers, civil servants, young people, and retirees,” they wrote today.
The government has been hinting for days that it is open to a measure regarding the minimum wage, but the extent of that measure will likely fall short of the unions’ demands.
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Source: APE-MPE
