French unions and students take to the streets again... “Everything goes up except wages and pensions.”

(London = Yonhap News) Correspondent Jiyeon Kim = Major French labor unions and student groups took to the streets again on the 5th (local time) to protest poor public sector services and high prices.

According to AP, AFP, and Reuters, union strikes protesting the rising cost of living and demanding wage increases are taking place in major cities such as Lyon, Marseille, and Nantes. A major protest begins in the afternoon at the Place de la République in Paris, the capital.

“We need to take to the streets in large numbers today,” Sophie Binet, secretary-general of the Confederation of Labor (CGT), told LCI TV, adding that there were 260 rallies scheduled for the day across the country.

High school students also protested and blocked school entrances across the country on this day. Hundreds of schools were fully or partially closed.

Not only students but also teachers participated in the strike. The Ministry of Education predicted that 17.5% of public elementary school teachers would participate in the strike.

Domestic intelligence agencies predicted that 500,000 to 700,000 people would participate in rallies outside of Paris. According to police estimates, 550,000, 410,000, and 320,000 people participated in the previous three large-scale weekend protests.

At the Lyon protest on this day, a banner appeared that said, "High school students, pensioners, students, and workers are all together. We must unite to win." Some wore masks or safety glasses in preparation for the police's use of tear gas.

In Marseille, young protesters held up banners reading ‘Generation Z struggle.’

Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez announced that, as with the previous weekend's protests, 70,000 police were deployed this day to prepare for violence, and armored vehicles, drones, and helicopters were also deployed.

Major labor unions issued a joint statement saying that France is on the verge of an economic downturn and plans for layoffs are increasing. “Everything is going up, including fuel, food, rent, gas, and electricity,” and “only wages and pensions are not going up.”

They said, "The anger is enormous," and urged the government, "The country's situation is fragile. Social and environmental challenges must be resolved without delay."

With less than half a year left before the French presidential election, financial instability is growing and political division is severe, and Emmanuel Macron's government is unable to come up with strong measures to combat the spread of protests.

President Macron convened a defense and security meeting on the 4th, the day before the protests.

“The goal for the next few weeks is to calm the floodwaters and start the presidential election in as calm conditions as possible,” an aide to President Macron told Reuters.