French protest groups and trade unions on Sunday called for fresh demonstrations next Saturday and a nationwide strike on November 5, seeking to maintain pressure on the government over low wages, rising living costs, and deteriorating public services. The calls came after 410,000 people took part in marches on Saturday, according to the Interior Ministry.
Authorities deployed 70,000 police officers during Saturday’s demonstrations, helping prevent a repeat of the looting and vandalism that swept many cities on October 17 and limiting unrest to sporadic clashes, including in Paris and Marseille.
The Interior Ministry said 1,314 people had been arrested, roughly half the number recorded the previous week. Around 50 police officers were injured, compared with more than 1,000 the week before.
Trade union leaders said public discontent extended well beyond the student movement that emerged last month. “We are seeing anger building up,” Murielle Guilbert, co-president of the left-wing Solidaires trade union federation, told BFM TV, pointing to growing convergence among the demands of students, workers, firefighters, and other groups. She called on people to take to the streets again next Saturday.
🇫🇷🔥 À Marseille, un feu géant allumé dans une rue habitée a embrasé un appartement situé plusieurs étages au-dessus. Une illustration dramatique du danger de ces incendies criminels qui se multiplient dans nos rues. https://t.co/oYRtfyI0Ri
— French Report (@french_report78) October 25, 2026
A union representing teachers announced that it would join demonstrations on October 31, while the CGT union said it would decide on its participation in the coming days.
The Yellow Vests movement, which emerged in 2018 in protest against fuel taxes, also called for mass demonstrations next Saturday, including sit-ins outside town halls and the National Assembly.
The government has limited room to respond to the demands. In 2019, President Emmanuel Macron managed to secure funding to reduce fuel costs in response to the Yellow Vests protests. Seven years later, however, strained public finances constrain his ability to act. His term ends in April, and his centrist party no longer has a majority sufficient to pass major legislation.
The government has opened talks with trade unions and student representatives in an effort to contain the crisis, but protest leaders say the measures proposed so far fall short.
Meanwhile, police unions warned on Sunday that they lacked sufficient personnel to sustain for long the extensive security deployment used during Saturday’s marches.
The protests have also reverberated across other European countries. Belgian police used tear gas and pepper spray during clashes with anti-government demonstrators in Brussels on Saturday. In Albania, peaceful protests that began in late May escalated into violent unrest this month, while cities across Italy saw skirmishes for the second consecutive week.