France is bracing for another wave of protests as the Yellow Vest movement calls for nationwide blockades Friday and mass demonstrations Saturday, extending weeks of unrest driven by economic grievances, demands for higher wages and growing frustration over the cost of living.
The planned demonstrations follow a turbulent Thursday, when nationwide rallies demanding better pay and an increase in the minimum wage descended into violence. Authorities reported 448 arrests and 53 injured police officers as clashes erupted in several major cities.
The Interior Ministry said groups of several hundred radical protesters and left-wing extremists attacked police in Rennes, Marseille, Nantes, Lyon, Bordeaux and Strasbourg. Officers were pelted with stones, fireworks and improvised explosive devices as demonstrators attempted to break away from the main marches and move into city centers. Violence was also reported in Paris.
Preliminary figures showed 86 incidents of arson nationwide.
In Strasbourg, an effigy depicting a riot police officer, reportedly created by art students, was set on fire. The local prefect referred the incident to judicial authorities.
Schools also became targets during the unrest, with staff injured in several cities after being attacked with fireworks, according to the Interior Ministry.
In the Paris suburb of La Courneuve, a young man stabbed a student participating in a school blockade. In Toulouse, rioters entered a school, started a fire, vandalized classrooms and destroyed computers. Two secondary schools were seriously damaged in Caen, while another in Lille was evacuated after its entrance was set ablaze.
Estimates of Thursday's turnout varied sharply. The Interior Ministry put nationwide participation at 575,000, including 65,000 in Paris, while the General Confederation of Labour (CGT) union federation estimated that 1.6 million people took part.
The demonstrations brought together workers, students and other groups demanding higher wages and better public services, adding to pressure on Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu's minority government.
Union leaders have called for substantial increases in the minimum wage, arguing that current earnings are insufficient to cover the cost of living.
Marylise Leon, leader of the French Democratic Confederation of Labour (CFDT), called for a 100 euros ($112) increase in the net monthly minimum wage, telling BFMTV that workers must be able to earn a decent living.
CGT General Secretary Sophie Binet welcomed the government's willingness to increase the minimum wage beyond the adjustment already scheduled for January but dismissed a further rise of 0.5% or 0.6% as inadequate.
"France is the European country where the minimum wage has risen the least over the past 10 years. We have now become a low-wage country," Binet told LCI, arguing that increases were also needed across other wage levels.
Frederic Souillot, head of the Workers' Force (FO) union, has called for the gross monthly minimum wage to reach 2,000 euros.
France's minimum wage currently stands at 12.31 euros gross per hour, equivalent to approximately 1,867 euros a month for employees working a 35-hour week. Germany's hourly minimum wage, by comparison, is scheduled to rise to 14.60 euros in January.
The government has announced several measures in an attempt to contain the unrest, including plans to increase the minimum wage beyond the previously scheduled adjustment, provide additional funding and staff for schools, and release diesel fuel from national reserves to help lower prices at the pump over three months.
However, the concessions have done little to resolve the broader grievances behind the demonstrations.
The Yellow Vest movement, which first emerged in 2018 in opposition to rising fuel taxes, has evolved into a wider grassroots campaign against economic inequality and the cost of living. Its decentralized structure, without a clearly defined leadership or central organization, has made it difficult for the government to identify representatives with whom it can negotiate.
The movement initially gained momentum through protests over fuel costs but expanded into a nationwide challenge to economic policies and living conditions. Recent demonstrations have also drawn support from students demanding better education and greater investment in schools.
Friday's planned blockades and Saturday's nationwide rallies threaten to prolong the disruption for a fourth consecutive weekend.
The unrest comes at a difficult time for Lecornu's government, which is struggling to secure parliamentary approval for next year's austerity budget as France faces mounting public debt.
The government's initial budget proposal failed to pass the National Assembly late Wednesday after lawmakers substantially amended the draft during debate. The revised text received no votes in favor, with all 458 lawmakers voting against it.
The original version of the budget will now be examined by the Senate, the upper chamber of Parliament, as Lecornu's minority government attempts to push through its spending plans.
