PARIS (The Thursday Times) — About 106,000 people marched across France on Saturday, the interior ministry said, the lowest turnout in recent weeks, as a fifth straight weekend of protests over the cost of living turned its anger on a bill that would give police more legal protection.
The ministry counted 24,000 demonstrators in Paris. Student unions gave a far higher figure of 200,000 nationwide, including almost 100,000 in the capital.
The rallies were largely peaceful, but police fired tear gas in Paris, Bordeaux, and the western city of Nantes. In Lyon, police had to step in to protect a television crew after protesters attacked them, local authorities said.
In Paris, students, trade unionists, and Yellow Vest activists marched to chants of “No justice, no peace”. Some climbed statues waving French flags, others called on President Emmanuel Macron to resign, and one group carried a giant puppet in a hat that read “Lord Macron”.
A “licence to kill”
The main target of the day was a bill that would give officers who use their weapons a presumption of self-defence. It has passed the National Assembly and is due to go to the Senate, and it had become the focus of the marches before they began.
Its backers, including Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally, say officers should not be automatically suspected of using disproportionate force. Activists call it a “licence to kill” that would make it harder to open investigations and to hold police to account in a country where alleged brutality cases rarely reach a criminal court.
“We’re scared when we come to a protest, and this will only make us even more afraid if their impunity is strengthened,” said Adrien, a 20-year-old cellist in a volunteer orchestra marching in Paris. Tear gas fell on the orchestra’s musicians at a protest last month, he said.
Lawyers said last week that police violence at recent protests had caused “mutilations”, including hand, foot, and eye injuries.
Elsewhere, marchers demanded better schools and more protection for children. In Lyon, thousands walked from the Manufacture des Tabacs to Place Jean-Macé against violence towards children and teenagers. In Toulouse, Kenza, a 28-year-old asylum lawyer, said: “The repression of protesters is unacceptable – even more so when they are children.”
In Bordeaux, 72-year-old Josette said her children had not wanted her to come. “But I’m so grateful to the youth for starting this movement,” she said.
Strike called for Tuesday
France has been gripped by school blockades and mass demonstrations for more than a month. The biggest turnout came during a union-led strike last week, when official figures put the number of marchers at more than half a million.
Unions have called another day of strikes for Tuesday, after rejecting a government promise to raise the minimum wage by 0.6% as “crumbs”.
Macron’s popularity is at its lowest since he first took office in 2017, recent polls show, and his government has little room to meet protesters’ demands as it tries to cut the country’s debt. The far right leads the polls for next year’s presidential election, with the hard-left Jean-Luc Mélenchon projected as runner-up. Judo champion Teddy Riner, who entered the race on Monday, has called Macron’s backing a “poisoned chalice”.
