The anger of students, farmers and officials converges in a large protest throughout France

Rage returns to the streets of France this Saturday. Students, officials, transporters and the specter of the yellow vests have gathered in about 500 points in the country. The social mobilization, originally called against the rising cost of living and the loss of purchasing power, but to which the students have joined, keeps the Government in suspense. The President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron, called for calm on Friday night and the Minister of the Interior, Laurent Nuñez, warned of the possibility of incidents in Paris and other large cities.

The Executive expects around 500 actions and more than 90 demonstrations. This Saturday, large cities like Lyon (the third most populated in the country) woke up with some streets blocked by barricades made up of rental bicycles, containers and tires. In Paris, the police had already arrested dozens of people by mid-morning and in cities like Marseille (the second largest in population) police charges against the first protesters began early, setting containers and trash cans on fire.

The protest confirms the return of the yellow vests to France, whose clothing began to give color to the first crowds in the Place de la République in Paris. There begins the great demonstration in the capital.

"We're back. Eight years have passed, but everything is still shit. Gasoline is more expensive, we are poorer. They laugh at us, Macron has laughed at us," protests Philippe Doué, 54, standing. The man, who already participated in the first yellow vest protests, has come to Paris from Nanterre with a group of friends. "On Saturdays we go out on bikes or meet at the bar. Today it's time to fight for our rights and for those of young people," he insists at the foot of the statue of Marianne, symbol of the French Revolution, guarded by dozens of riot police and a truck with water cannons prepared to disperse the foreseeable altercations of the afternoon.

It all started with a clip on TikTok, general unrest over rising fuel prices and a date: October 17. The call was born on social networks a month ago and became the new political-media object of September. The petition – which included a type of poster designed with artificial intelligence – called for a national mobilization of “yellow vests” with occupation of roundabouts and squares throughout the country while a song played in the background with the chorus: “Macron, resignation.”

Nobody took it too seriously. But the student protests have set the country on fire in recent days and the general unrest has found a channel this Saturday through the protest.

The yellow vest movement emerged in France in 2018 as a network call against the rise in fuel prices promoted by Macron's Government, and defined itself as a citizen, transversal, without official spokespersons or leaders and without affiliation to any party. On November 17, 2018, its founding day, it brought together 282,000 people who demonstrated throughout the country. Now, eight years later, the shadow of his return also marks the 17th, a month earlier on the calendar, right at the end of the term of the president whom they received then.

The call has now also brought together youth organizations, environmental groups, farmers and unions. Among them are the Peasant Confederation, the inter-union of transport vehicles with drivers (VTC) and the Solidaires union. The General Confederation of Labor (CGT) has announced that it will participate wherever the necessary conditions are met, while the yellow vests have announced a thousand actions.

The confluence of struggles and organizations involved reflects the breadth of social demands, which go beyond a single issue and bring together different expressions of discontent regarding the economic situation and the daily difficulties of numerous citizens. Everything happens when Parliament must debate new public accounts that include cuts of up to 54,000 million euros to control a ballooning debt whose payment already represents a greater burden than the National Education item.

The background landscape does not favor the possibility of a response from the Executive to calm the waters. Just a few days ago, the Bank of France lowered its growth forecast for 2026 to a range of between 0.4% and 0.5%, well below the 1% it was managing at the end of 2025, and raised its inflation forecast to 2.5% for this year, almost one percentage point higher than what was calculated months ago. The entity itself admits that this economic slack, combined with the rise in debt, will push the public deficit to 5.2% of GDP in 2026, one tenth more than in 2025. Interannual inflation already stood at 2.4% in August, accelerating from 2.1% in July, with energy that has become more expensive by almost 17% in the last year.

The general secretary of the CGT, Sophie Binet, considers that the day of mobilization highlights the seriousness of the economic situation that many workers are going through. Binet stated on the France Inter radio station that everyday products such as tomatoes and zucchini, as well as fuel, have become increasingly difficult expenses for a part of the population to assume.

Disagreement over the route in Paris

The march in the capital is of particular concern to the authorities. The organizers and the Police Prefecture ended up agreeing on Friday night that it would start from the Place de la République and end at the Porte de Clichy. The main point of conflict is the final destination of the march.

Since the beginning of the movement, some 210 high school students have been injured as of this Saturday, along with 150 members of educational personnel and 900 members of law enforcement. This human balance is accompanied by 8,000 police arrests, of which 85% correspond to minors, and thirty investigations entrusted to the General Inspection of the National Police (IGPN), the body in charge of investigating possible police irregularities. As for material damage, these amount to “a minimum of 30 million euros,” according to what the Government indicated on Friday of last week.

The Minister of the Interior also confirmed that the police may use stun grenades and other means in the event of serious confrontations. This announcement comes after last Wednesday the minister ordered the temporary suspension of the use of one type of these grenades following an incident that occurred in Lens (north), where a 15-year-old protester suffered the amputation of a hand during protests related to the blockade of institutes. Nuñez then specified that the suspension was limited to the student movement and that it would be maintained while the circumstances of what happened were investigated.