Fifth round of protests sweeps across France

Between 106,000 and 200,000 people took to the streets across France on Saturday for the fifth round of protests, according to figures from the interior ministry and student unions respectively, as turnout fell and some incidents were reported.

The interior ministry said around 106,000 people took part in protests nationwide, including 24,000 in Paris. Student unions put the number of demonstrators at 200,000, including almost 100,000 in the capital. The ministry said 219 people had been detained across the nation, while Paris prosecutors said 45 were arrested in the capital.

Saturday’s turnout was lower than the previous week, when the interior ministry reported 146,000 people nationwide and 46,000 in Paris. The largest protests in recent weeks occurred during a union-led strike on Thursday of the previous week, when more than half a million people took to the streets nationwide, according to official figures.

The country has been gripped by high-school blockades, mass demonstrations, and strikes for more than a month. Protesters have rallied against falling educational standards, cost-of-living increases, low wages, and police violence. The far right is leading in the polls to win presidential elections next year to replace Emmanuel Macron.

In Paris, a group carried a giant puppet whose hat read "Lord Macron". A protester shouted "No justice, no peace" into a megaphone. Others called for the president to resign, or cried "Everybody hates the police".

Adrien, a 20-year-old cello player in a volunteer orchestra at the Paris rally, said the focus of the day was a new bill in parliament to give police who use their weapons further protection. "We're scared when we come to a protest, and this will only make us even more afraid if their impunity is strengthened," he said, after tear gas fell on protesting musicians last month.

Backers of the new police bill – including the far-right party of leading presidential hopeful Marine Le Pen – say a new law presuming police acted in self-defence is necessary to avoid officers being automatically suspected of using disproportionate force. Activists argue it would amount to a "licence to kill", as it would hamper the opening of investigations and make holding security forces accountable even harder in a country where alleged police brutality cases rarely reach a criminal court.

In the southern city of Toulouse, Kenza, a 28-year-old asylum law specialist, denounced the government's response to the social unrest. "The repression of protesters is unacceptable – even more so when they are children," she said. Lawyers last week said police violence at recent protests had led to "mutilations" including hand, foot and eye injuries.

Police had to intervene in the city of Lyon to protect a team of television reporters after protesters attacked them, local authorities said.

Marseille, France’s second-largest city, banned protests over the weekend, but the prefecture announced that some 3,500 people still took to the streets. Local media reported that tear gas and a water cannon were used against protesters and shared images of fires burning in a popular local square. In Lyon, local media reported that roughly 8,000 people took to the streets. They shared images of masked protesters chanting in front of fires lit in the street and police charging and using tear gas. Tear gas use was also reported in Nantes, Bordeaux and Paris.

Unions have called for a new day of strikes on Tuesday, after rejecting a government promise to increase the minimum wage by 0.6 percent as "crumbs". If the demonstrations go ahead, they will take place on the eighth anniversary of the Gilet Jaune – which translates to "Yellow Vest" in French – movement, which rocked the beginning of the Macron government in 2018 with two years of protests triggered by rising fuel prices. On Tuesday, the Yellow Vests will "celebrate their eight years where it all started: on roundabouts and toll booths all over France", Yellow Vest protest tracking website 17octobregiletjaune.net writes.

Macron's popularity is the lowest it has ever been since he first became president in 2017, according to recent polls, and the government has little leeway to respond to protester demands as it struggles to reduce its debt. Polls project hard-left candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon as runner-up in next year's elections, with the centre-right struggling to present a single strong contender.

Sources

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