Police arrested 232 people and carried out almost 40,000 stops-and-searches, interior minister says
Police arrested 232 people as of 6pm and carried out almost 40,000 stops-and-searches throughout the day, Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said in a statement published on social media.
Police launch tear gas and grenades at lingering protesters at Place de la Nation
Police launched tear gas and stun grenades at protesters remaining at Paris’s Place de la Nation at the end of the peaceful march against rising cost of living, CLPress news agency reported.
Police said that a number of protesters had thrown projectiles at them.
‘What we do have here is a lot of tear gas’: Police clash with protesters after peaceful march
FRANCE 24 senior reporter James André reports from Paris’s Place de la Nation, where police fired tear gas at protesters as the largely peaceful demonstration wound down.
Police fire tear gas at remaining protesters at Place de la Nation
Student unions say 250,000 people took part in protests across France
Roughly a quarter of a million people took part in demonstrations across France Saturday, a group bringing together a number of high school and university student unions said. Some 75,000 of those were involved in marches in Paris.
Fourth Saturday of mass demonstrations in France
France is entering its fourth consecutive weekend of protests, with student groups and trade unions once again taking to the streets over the rising cost of living and school conditions. This time, however, the Yellow Vests have refused to join the demonstrations, instead planning a separate rally in central Paris despite an official ban, and calling for “mass disobedience”. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez says 70,000 police officers and security forces will be deployed across the country. FRANCE 24 Senior Reporter James André reports from Paris.
In Pictures: Demonstrators march from Paris’s Place de la République
Protesters bearing an effigy depicting a bloody-eyed Marianne, the female symbol of the French Republic, and French flags during a demonstration in Paris. Photo: Sébastien Bozon, AFP
Scores of Yellow Vests protesters gather at Place de la Concorde despite police ban
Roughly 100 demonstrators from the Yellow Vests movement gathered at Place de la Concorde in Paris despite the official ban, while one of the movement’s leaders was arrested in front of the National Assembly, an AFP journalist reported.
The protesters – most of whom were not wearing the movement’s trademark high-visibility vests – were quickly surrounded by a cordon of riot police.
“They are currently being checked by law enforcement,” the Paris Police Prefecture said in a press release.
“I can’t make ends meet on my 40-hour workweek,” said Marie, a 20-year-old Parisian who took part in the attempted protest.
“Everything is getting more expensive except wages – they (the leaders) are munching on popcorn while watching us get crushed,” she added.
In front of the National Assembly in front of Place de la Concorde, Benjamin Ball, a member of the Yellow Vests coordination group, and the movement’s spokesperson, Azelma Sigaux, were arrested early in the afternoon.
‘For now, everything’s rather calm’: Unions and student groups take to the streets in fresh demonstrations
FRANCE 24 senior reporter James André speaks from Paris’s Place de la République as the first demonstrators begin to march towards Nation.
More than 190 protests planned by the Yellow Vests across the country
Across the country, the Yellow Vests are planning a total of 198 protests Saturday, according to their interactive map as of noon – a far cry from the approximately 1,700 protests claimed for their “Act I” mobilisation on October 17.
A rally planned earlier in the morning by the group near the Eiffel Tower ultimately did not take place, according to AFP.
Over 800 checks conducted by 11am at Paris train stations
The Paris Police Prefecture said on X that it had conducted 847 checks by 11am at train stations in Paris and the inner suburbs in an effort to maintain order and public safety amid a day of planned protests.
Authorities anticipate between 130,000 and 170,000 protesters
Authorities expect between 130,000 and 170,000 people to protest across the country, including 60,000 in Paris, AFP reported Saturday, citing sources familiar with the matter.
Paris Yellow Vests protest banned due to the risk of ‘disturbance of public order’
The Yellow Vests called for a demonstration at Paris’s Place de la Concorde on Saturday despite a ban by authorities.
The spokesperson for the Paris Police Prefecture reiterated that the protest was banned because of the “risk of a disturbance to public order”.
📸 An orchestra plays at Place de la République ahead of Paris demonstration
Members of orchestra Manif’ique play at Paris’s Place de la République as part of a new day of protests against the cost of living and rising fuel prices organised by the Yellow Vests movement and labour unions and joined by high school and university students, November 7, 2026. © Stephanie Lecocq
French students, teachers call new strike for Tuesday
Student and teacher groups in France have called for a strike on Tuesday as they keep up pressure on the government for more education spending, continuing weeks of school closures and protests.
A joint statement Saturday by unions covering the teacher and student associations said their movement “is in a position of strength (and) the government in a position of weakness and starting to yield”. They said “it is the moment to broaden the mobilisation by keeping the government under pressure”.
🎥 Mass protests across France planned under tight security
New protests across France are planned for Saturday — the fourth consecutive weekend — with Paris as the focal point, where the Yellow Vests intend to maintain a demonstration in the city centre despite a ban by authorities.
It will be a day under tight security, just two days after a large-scale national strike that saw between 575,000 and 1.6 million people protest.
Jack Pownall reports ⬇️
70,000 security forces to be deployed across France Saturday
Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said 70,000 police officers and security forces would be deployed across the country.
“If there are any rioters or looters … we’ll be ready and waiting for them,” he said.
The demonstrations have been largely peaceful, but there have at times been clashes with police or vandalism on their sidelines, including on October 17, when France saw its worst unrest in years.
On Thursday, hundreds of thousands of striking workers took to the streets across France in mostly orderly protests, although clashes between demonstrators and police broke out in several cities.
🎥 Europe’s crisis of discontent: Student and cost-of-living protests spread across EU
A growing wave of discontent is sweeping across Europe.
What began in France as student protests over deteriorating school conditions, teacher shortages and an education system under pressure has quickly grown into something much bigger: a groundswell of discontent over the rising cost of living, unaffordable housing and struggling public services.
Watch more below ⬇️
France braces for protests as Yellow Vests urge ‘mass disobedience’
French unions and student groups are set to take to the streets for another day of protests on Saturday, while the Yellow Vests movement plans a separate rally in central Paris despite a ban by authorities.
The demonstrations follow weeks of youth-led unrest and nationwide strikes that drew hundreds of thousands of workers protesting over the rising cost of living.
Student groups and trade unions have called for an authorised march in central Paris “against the high cost of living and in support of young people”.
Yellow Vests activists, however, have refused to join, instead calling for a separate rally at Place de la Concorde, near the lower house of parliament and presidential palace, despite a ban by authorities, and called for “mass disobedience“.