Another Saturday of protests in France ended with the detention of nearly 1,000 people. A day later, Marine Le Pen is launching her presidential campaign. She holds a commanding lead in the polls.
On Saturday, Oct. 24, 410,000 people took to the streets of French cities, according to the Interior Ministry. The CGT labor union put the figure at about 800,000. People protested the high cost of living, rising fuel prices and shortages in education. The movement began in September with blockades of high schools in Paris, where students demanded school renovations, more teachers and changes to the college admissions system.
Most marches were peaceful, but police used tear gas in Paris, Marseille, Lyon, Bordeaux, Lille, Toulouse, Montpellier and Nantes. Shops were looted in Marseille and Grenoble, and the Louvre and the Orsay Museum were closed. The government deployed 70,000 police officers and gendarmes. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez spoke of a “very high level of violence” from masked far-left militants. Two people were seriously injured, and one man in Toulouse lost fingers. Even so, the minister said the situation was better than a week earlier, when about 2,000 people were detained.
On Sunday in Orléans, Marine Le Pen opens her campaign for the presidential election scheduled for April and May. About 10,000 activists have come to the congress of her National Rally party. She promises to cut energy bills and taxes and to reduce France’s contribution to the EU budget. She accuses President Emmanuel Macron’s government of weakness toward hooligans. According to an Ipsos poll, she can count on 32% to 34% of the vote in the first round. Jean-Luc Mélenchon is second with 17%. At least 13,000 people protested her rally in Orléans.
The tension is not over. The “Yellow Vests” movement has announced more protests for next Saturday, and the CGT is calling for strikes starting Nov. 5.
KN
