France's protests: thousands arrested as anger over prices grows

France has been through weeks of protests and unrest over the cost of living, low wages and conditions in schools. Most marches have been peaceful, but several have turned violent, and police have made thousands of arrests since early October.

The latest: the November 5 national strike

On Thursday, November 5, workers went on strike and marched in cities across France. The numbers depend on who is counting:

• The government (Interior Ministry) counted 575,000 protesters nationwide, including 65,000 in Paris.
• The CGT union claims about 1.57 million people in more than 200 cities.

The Interior Ministry reported 448 arrests, 53 police officers injured and 86 fires that firefighters had to respond to by that evening. Clashes broke out in several cities, including Paris, Lyon and Toulouse, where police used tear gas. In Toulouse alone, local authorities reported 30 arrests and 18 officers hurt.

Where the violence happened

In Paris, clashes broke out about two hours into the November 5 march, when some people at the front of the crowd fought with police, who responded with tear gas. In Lyon, the Interior Ministry said officers faced several hundred people from so-called "black bloc" groups, masked activists who come to marches to fight police and damage property, and at least one vehicle was set on fire.

Two days later, on Saturday, November 7, smaller marches were held. The Interior Ministry counted about 146,000 people nationwide, including 46,000 in Paris, while unions said 250,000. Police said a group of about 200 people attacked officers after a man was detained for setting a trash bin on fire. Arrests that day passed 230 by early evening, and later reports put the total at more than 360.

In Paris, the police prefecture turned down a number of requests for march permits in parts of the city, saying it wanted to protect public order.

How it started: school blockades in October

The unrest began in early October as high-school students blocked their schools in protest over school conditions, and it quickly spread. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said that on a single day, October 2, police arrested 1,747 people, and more than 5,000 in that week alone. He said violence, which he called "riots," affected the area around 158 schools, and that about 85 percent of those arrested were minors.

The protests then merged with wider anger about prices and wages. Authorities in some areas banned large gatherings and kept marches away from main boulevards, measures unions have criticized.

What people are angry about

The protests bring together several groups with different complaints:

• Workers and unions want higher wages to keep up with prices for food, energy and rent. The CFDT union asked for a 100-euro monthly raise to the minimum wage and the CGT for about 150 euros.
• High-school students started the movement in October over conditions in their schools, including crowded classes and staff shortages.
• Many ordinary households say their pay no longer covers everyday costs, even though official inflation has come down from its peak.

Most marchers are peaceful. The violence has mostly involved smaller groups who clash with police, set fires or damage shops, often at the edges or the end of marches.

What each side says

• The government says most police action has been proportionate. Some ministers have accused the hard-left party La France Insoumise (LFI) of helping organize the school blockades.
• LFI denies this. Its leader in parliament, Manuel Bompard, called the accusation a conspiracy theory.
• Critics, including some senators, say police were too heavy-handed with teenagers. Nuñez has acknowledged that some people were seriously hurt during police operations.

Numbers from both sides

Crowd sizes in France are always disputed. The Interior Ministry counts with police estimates at each march, while unions count their own members and supporters. The gap is usually large, as it was on November 5, when the official figure was 575,000 and the CGT said 1.57 million. Neither number can be checked independently, so we report both.

The government's answer

On November 9, Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu met unions and employers and announced a 24-euro monthly raise to the minimum wage from December 1, plus tax breaks on overtime. Unions say it is far too little, so more protests are likely.

What to watch next

• Whether unions call another national strike date.
• Whether the government keeps restrictions on marches in place.
• Court cases for the thousands arrested since October.