France’s Yellow Vest movement has called for nationwide demonstrations on October 31, protesting what it describes as an authoritarian drift and defending public freedoms. The rallies come amid renewed protests over education funding and rising living costs.
The Yellow Vest movement in France on Saturday (local time) called for new demonstrations on October 31 as the country continues to reel from protests and sporadic violence. Organisers called for fresh rallies and a sit-in outside parliament and city halls nationwide, condemning the "authoritarian drift" of President Emmanuel Macron and urging citizens to stand up for "public freedoms".
Members of the largely rural-based Yellow Vest movement were angered and refused to comply when Paris police ordered a late change to the authorised route for a union-organised march Saturday, shifting it to the edge of the capital.
Next Saturday, "we will protest for the freedom to protest, and for all our freedoms," a Yellow Vest coordinator told journalists at Paris's Bastille Square, the original departure point for the march.
What is Yellow Vest movement?
Yellow Vest 2.0 (Gilet jaune saison 2) refers to the French grassroots-level protest movement, which first surfaced in 2018 against rising fuel taxes and high living costs. Unlike traditional French labor unions or political parties, the movement organized spontaneously and gathered heavily at suburban traffic circles. As the name suggests, protesters were seen with high-visibility yellow safety vests. According to French law, every motorist must keep these vests in their car for emergencies, and thus it became a highly visible and universal symbol of distress for working-class people who depended entirely on cars to get to work and felt abandoned by urban political elites.
The Yellow Vest protest officially began on November 17, 2018, with the demonstrators blocking the roads. As days passed, the protests grew in strength and spread across France, with students and other discontent group joining in.
What did Yellow Vest achieve in 2018?
The movement forced President Emmanuel Macron to scrap planned fuel tax increases and enact billions of euros in economic relief measures. To pacify the protesters, Macron also announced a €100-per-month increase in the national minimum wage (SMIC), funded by the state rather than employers and his government made overtime hours tax-free and social-security-exempt, and encouraged employers to pay a tax-free year-end bonus. His government was also forced to cancel a mandatory social contribution hike on low-income retirees earning less than €2,000 a month.
Yellow Vests join students protests
The Yellow Vest protesters re-emerged last week as they joined the student-led demonstrations across France. What began last month as a protest over staff shortages at one high school southeast of Paris spread nationwide, drawing students demanding more funding for education and workers seeking help with soaring costs for fuel and other necessities.
More bad news for Macron
The protests are happening at a time when incumbent president Emmanuel Macron, who cannot run for a third term in the upcoming elections in 2027, is struggling with a fall in support.
According to an Ipsos BVA-Cesi survey, Macron's favorable rating has dropped to 15%, reaching its lowest point since he took office in 2017. The protests are also working in favour of Marine Le Pen, the far-right National Rally leader who is currently leading in polls.
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Bobins loves telling the human side of all stories, from the intersection of geopolitics, international relations, and conflicts around the world. In his nearly one-and-a-half-decade career as a journalist, Bobins has covered South Asia, the Middle East, and North America, from elections to mass protests and conflicts. <br> Bobins has also done extensive reporting on environmental issues, climate change, and sustainability, focusing on solutions and people working to make the planet a better place to live. <br> In 2018, Bobins was awarded by Times Internet for the impact of his story on Delhi tree cuttings. Bobins also loves telling the stories of Indian startups and the journey of their founders. <br> Total Years of Experience: 14 <br> Years of experience at LM: Bobins has been a part of Live Mint since February 2026 <br> Interests: When he is not tracking conflicts, Bobins loves to cook, travel across India, click photos, and watch documentaries on history. Past Experience: Before joining Live Mint, Bobins worked with The Indian Express, where he led the Global Breaking News coverage, Indiatimes, where he led the news team, covering everything trending, ANI, where the focus of his coverage was South Asia, and NBS News. <br> Current Role: Bobins is currently working as an Assistant Editor at Live Mint.