Between 600,000 and 1.5 million people, according to figures provided by the Government and the unions, have taken to the streets this Thursday in the main French cities as part of the general strike that, for now, brings to an end several weeks of protests and unrest that have driven social tensions in the country to levels unprecedented in the current decade.
The coincidence of student marches, which call for changes in secondary education, with the return to the scene of the 'yellow vests' movement to denounce the rising cost of living and demand the resignation of President Emmanuel Macron, has resulted in an escalation of protests and episodes of violence that culminates in this Thursday’s national stoppage, driven by the trade union confederations in defense of purchasing power.
At dusk, the Place de la Nation remains packed with demonstrators while the Police keep the entrances to the statues of the central fountain cordoned off, and the first interventions by riot-control units have already been recorded.
On Wednesday night, the Minister of the Interior, Laurent Nuñez, outlined the deployment of 70,000 police officers and gendarmes for today’s day and guaranteed an “extremely firm” response to any possible “disturbance”.
Along the same lines, he has emphasized the obligation to provide a “firm” response to any outbreak of violence and specified in a statement that the operation includes specialized units, as well as the use of drones, helicopters, mounted brigades, canine units, 26 armored vehicles Centaure of the Gendarmerie, and around fifteen amphibious vehicles.
In this context, the French prime minister, Sébastien Lecornu, has announced the convening of a “social conference” with unions and business organizations for this coming Monday at Matignon, with the goal of “addressing issues of purchasing power and wages”, while Lecornu has asked the Minister of Labour, Jean-Pierre Farandou.
For now, incidents have been reported in other cities in the country: in Toulouse, 19 arrests are counted, 14 of them still in police custody, after several clashes that have caused at least three Police agents to be injured, according to police data cited by “Le Figaro”.