Demonstrators across France call for protests against rising living costs

Demonstrators across France today called for street protests against the rising cost of living, joining high school students who have expressed dissatisfaction with conditions in education after more than three weeks of school blockades.

Activists on social networks are calling for a revival of the “yellow vests” movement, which emerged in 2018 as a reaction to social injustice.

Groups of students, who have been protesting since mid-September, have called on supporters to join them.

A major French trade union, the CGT, also supports the protests and is calling for “higher wages and pensions, lower prices, and the protection of public services that meet people’s needs.”

French President Emmanuel Macron yesterday called for calm and respect for people and property, while officials warned of possible violence.

“There is a constitutional right to protest and to express oneself, and I have always been vigilant to ensure that this right is fully respected. However, with this right comes the obligation of respect. Respect for people, respect for property, and thus the obligation not to insult or destroy,” Macron said in Brussels.

He described as “unacceptable” the possible presence of people who are there “solely to cause harm and provoke unrest.”

Interior Minister Laurent Nunez stated that hundreds of protest actions and more than 80 marches are expected across the country, including spontaneous gatherings, street demonstrations, and blockades.

Many metro stations were closed today at the request of the police, including those around the Champs-Élysées, as well as those near the presidential palace, parliament, and government offices.

In France, over the past few weeks, several thousand arrests have been recorded, hundreds injured, and several schools set on fire.

Nunez suspended the use of a certain type of police stun grenade against young demonstrators after a fifteen-year-old lost his hand.