PARIS – After weeks of student protests, France is set to be swept by broader, nationwide demonstrations on Oct 17 over the cost of living, setting up a potentially fraught period ahead of presidential elections in 2027.
The prospect of the two movements merging, perhaps with outbreaks of violence, poses a big challenge to the government – and an opportunity for far-left and far-right presidential candidates jockeying for power.
The country’s Yellow Vest movement, which eight years ago staged street protests against President Emmanuel Macron and his government, called the Oct 17 “yellow and youth” demonstrations and urged millions to turn out.
It has appealed to teachers, workers, pensioners and farmers, as well as students, in an online call spread through social media.
“I have a feeling that (Oct 17) will be a sort of culmination,” 18-year-old Marie-Lou, a protesting university student in the city of Lille, told AFP.
“We’ll be joined by workers and by the Yellow Vests, who are also mobilising again. There’s a sense of hope that all these different struggles might converge.”
Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu said on Oct 15 he feared clashes after what he called “urban violence” during the student protests.
Lecornu is under pressure to get a cost-cutting budget through Parliament. It aims to tackle France’s growing public debt by raising more tax revenue and reducing expenditures.
Yet the Yellow Vest and student movements are demanding the government spend more money.
They want protection from inflation sent surging above 3% by the Middle East war, and boosted public services, particularly education.
Anger at police
There is also public anger at perceived police brutality during the student protests, during which several teenage protesters were maimed and thousands were arrested.
Francois Boulo, a figure within the Yellow Vest movement, told AFP there was no coordination with the various groups expected to take part on Oct 17, “but we all had the same reaction when we saw the police violence against the students”.
The growing unrest on France’s streets and the country’s fragmented political system are weighing on the final months of Macron’s presidency, ahead of elections in April and May to choose his successor.
They are also fertile ground for opposition parties and their candidates.
Jean-Luc Melenchon, leader of the far-left France Unbowed party, has backed the student protests and marched in a demonstration on Oct 13 supporting them.
Far-right leader Marine Le Pen, the frontrunner according to surveys, has positioned her National Rally party on the side of the police, consistent with its law-and-order messaging.
Macron this week said he believed the “legitimate” demands of the protesting students were being “exploited for political purposes”, according to a government spokeswoman.
Prepared for violence
Organisers of the Oct 17 demonstrations have set up a website showing more than 500 demonstrations planned across France.
The Paris police banned a major march through the tourist and business heart of the capital, saying it could only take place in the east of the city.
But authorities and demonstrators were both preparing for possible violence.
Paris police have launched legal action against an influencer on Twitch who urged his hundreds of thousands of followers to take part in the demonstration “war zone”.
And on Oct 16, Interior Minister Laurent Nunez told France 2 television that officers could use stun grenades in case of “extremely serious urban violence”. He had previously suspended their use during the student protests after one stun grenade blew off the hand of a 15-year-old.
Demonstrators have set up a smartphone app giving the real-time location of police, tear gas and helicopters. AFP