Cost-of-Living Protests Draw About 146,000 Across France

About 146,000 people rallied across France on November 7 against the rising cost of living, according to the Ministry of the Interior, the government department that oversees the police. Al Jazeera The gatherings marked a fourth consecutive weekend of protests across the country.

The ministry put the crowd in Paris at about 46,000. French unions gave a higher estimate of 250,000 protesters nationwide, including 75,000 in Paris. Authorities deployed about 70,000 security personnel across France for the day. Before the protests, Interior Minister Laurent Nunez warned that authorities would be "ready and waiting" for rioting or looting.

Police fired tear gas in Paris in an attempt to disperse protesters. In Lyon, officers used tear gas against several hundred people who were blocking a road during an unauthorised gathering. Tear gas is an irritant that police use to force crowds to move.

The movement began in September with complaints about conditions and a lack of resources at French high schools, before widening to grievances about living standards. In October, protesters cited high fuel prices and the cost of living, and Reuters described the unrest that month as some of the worst France had seen in years, linked to the cost of living and under-funded public services.

Labour leaders had called for a nationwide strike on November 5, citing frustration over wages and living costs. That day's rallies were largely peaceful, but clashes broke out in Paris and Lyon, where police fired tear gas. Reuters reported fires and tear gas marking clashes across France that day, and DW reported that more than 600,000 people had protested over the high cost of living.