Over 600,000 protest across France over wages, living costs

More than 600,000 people marched across France on Thursday, November 5, when five unions held a nationwide day of strikes and protests over wages, living costs and public services. The unions also threw their support behind a student movement that has shaken the country since September. That figure comes from France's Interior Ministry, while the CGT union counted nearly 1.6 million people at more than 200 demonstrations, including 350,000 in Paris, the Associated Press reported. Both counts were higher than turnout on October 17, when protests turned into rioting and looting.apnews.com

Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said the total rose through the afternoon, from 270,000 to 600,000 by evening, according to DW. CNN called it the biggest day of protests since the movement began, though still smaller than the 2023 pension reform marches.amp.dw.com+1

Clashes in Lyon, a school fire near Toulouse

Most marches were peaceful, but there were some clashes with police in Paris and Lyon, Reuters reported. In Lyon, riot police charged crowds, fires burned in the streets and water cannon were used, NBC News reported. The Interior Ministry said fireworks fired at a school near Toulouse started a fire that burned the student services office, and that police in Rennes were hit with metal pétanque balls, according to NBC News.nbcnews.com+1

Nuñez deployed 70,000 police officers, backed by armored vehicles, drones and helicopters, and the ministry said at least 448 people were arrested, the AP reported. The Eiffel Tower was closed. About a third of France's high schools were shut or unable to operate, either because students blocked them or because teachers were on strike, according to the AP. The Education Ministry said just over 15% of teaching staff joined the strike, and power unions joined too, DW reported.post-gazette.com+2

Wage demands meet a tight budget

The unions want a higher minimum wage, pay raises across the board and tax reform. Their joint statement warned that France is close to recession. "Fuel, food products, rent, gas, electricity … everything's going up except wages and pensions," it said, per the AP. The CGT, the largest union, is calling for an immediate 10% rise in the minimum wage, CNN reported. The government has little room to give ground, because lawmakers are debating a 2027 budget with about €45 billion in cuts, DW noted. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu will meet unions and employers on November 9 to discuss salaries, according to Reuters.usnews.com+3

The movement started with a protest over staff shortages at a high school in Créteil, southeast of Paris. The protests are now part of the race to succeed President Emmanuel Macron next May, and Jean-Luc Mélenchon, Marine Tondelier and Raphaël Glucksmann all joined the Paris march, the AP reported. The CGT said it would "continue its fight for as long as necessary to force the government and employers to give in to its demands."apnews.com