France, another Saturday of protests expected: 70 thousand police officers deployed

The presence of the yellow vests in the square is expected

The new demonstration, called by the unions, also sees students and yellow vests in the streets. The unions are calling in particular for an increase in the minimum wage, a review of tax policies, more resources for schools and healthcare and guarantees on employment. Precisely the presence of the yellow vests represents a further element of attention for the authorities: the movement, protagonist of the large French protests between 2018 and 2020, returns to intersect its mobilization with that of workers and students.

The AFP denounces police violence against journalists during demonstrations

Meanwhile, the management of Agence France-Presse (Afp), the French press agency among the most important information bodies in the world, has denounced "the violence committed by the police against their journalists during the demonstrations" linked to the student movement and the high cost of living in France. According to the AFP, several reporters were hit by truncheons or, in one case, by a projectile fired from a projectile defense launcher (LBD) supplied by the French police. An agency photographer who was wearing a visible band with the words 'Presse' was injured during a police charge against the tortoise of a march of demonstrators. The photographer received five truncheon blows, three of which on the helmet and two on the lower part of one leg, resulting in a fracture of the fibula. On 17 October, in Lille, in the north of the country, a journalist was wounded in the thigh by an Lbd bullet, even though he was also wearing a press band. On the same day, in Paris, a video journalist was deliberately targeted with a water cannon, together with colleagues from other media, who were also clearly identifiable, and then suffered a truncheon the following day.