The French Interior Ministry said that on the 5th, more than 600,000 people took to the streets across France, including Paris, demanding higher wages and supporting the student protest movement, bringing a new wave of heavy pressure to the embattled government of Emmanuel Macron.
The Associated Press reported that after more than a month of repeated large-scale protests, large rallies broke out again in major cities such as Paris, Lyon, and Marseille. The Ministry of Interior emphasized that the current count of 600,000 people is still preliminary.
The Paris parade on the afternoon of the 5th attracted a huge crowd and was generally peaceful. Participating students held up signs that read, "Inequality seriously threatens our future" and "We cannot live hand-to-mouth all our lives." Laborers and retirees have also joined in demanding higher wages and pensions.
The protests forced about a third of France's high schools to close or suspend, partly due to student blockades and partly due to teachers going on strike. Public transportation in some areas was also disrupted, and the famous landmark Eiffel Tower was also closed.
French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said that the authorities deployed 70,000 police officers and used armored vehicles, drones and helicopters for support. However, the police's tough tactics against protesters, which resulted in their injuries, also triggered strong criticism from the outside world.
Many demonstrations in recent weeks have been overshadowed by violence. Authorities blamed an attempt by masked far-left militants to foment rebellion, as well as some rioters intent on looting. In the Brittany region of western France, authorities said masked people tried to block roads in Rennes; young people accompanied by adults committed "serious acts of violence", including throwing steel balls at police. Tense confrontations and sporadic conflicts were also reported in Lyon, Nantes, Toulouse and other cities.
France's main union warned that the country is on the brink of economic recession and the wave of layoffs is expanding. "Fuel, food, rent, gas, electricity bills...everything is rising except wages and pensions." France, which is burdened with heavy debt, is currently tied with Italy and Belgium for the worst economic performance in Europe.
Garance Blaise, a 21-year-old college student, said at the Paris demonstration: "All this stems from the fact that we don't know whether we will be able to find a job in the future. Our parents also agree with our demands. This movement is not limited to students, but has spread to a cross-class movement across Europe."
Fabien Villedieu, national secretary-general of the SUD-Rail railway union, targeted the Macron government and the national railway company (SNCF), emphasizing: "When the government is unreasonable, we can only do what the French have always done - strike."
This wave of movement began in September this year as a protest against teacher shortages in a high school in southeast Paris, and then quickly spread across the country. What started as students' demands for more education funding expanded to labor protests over soaring living costs, which eventually turned into France's most serious social unrest in recent years.
The turmoil comes as the race for France's presidential election in May next year heats up. Due to constitutional restrictions, Macron will not be able to seek a third term; the most popular candidate currently is far-right leader Marine Le Pen.
Many political leaders, including far-left veteran Jean-Luc Melenchon, Green Party leader Marine Tondelier, and moderate left-wing representative Raphael Glucksmann, all participated in the Paris march on the 5th. Paul Smith, associate professor of French history and politics at the University of Nottingham in the United Kingdom, pointed out that no matter who wins the election, he will face a mountain of problems, and it is currently difficult to predict how the situation will develop.
