The Paris Police Prefecture has banned a planned Thursday strike march through the city center and toward the National Assembly, citing fears of renewed violence after weeks of nationwide unrest.
Initially sparked by student anger over education costs and school conditions, the protests have snowballed into a nationwide revolt over inequality, soaring living costs, and public-service cuts. Violence peaked on October 17, when hundreds of thousands took to Paris streets amid widespread looting, arson, and clashes with riot police. Protests continued over the following two weekends.
Authorities expected 500,000 to 700,000 people to join Thursday’s nationwide strike and demonstrations, called by workers unions and the Yellow Vest movement over wages and employment. Protesters had planned to march from Place de la Bastille to Place de la Concorde, saying they wanted to “head towards the centers of political power.” The French National Assembly is housed in the Palais Bourbon, directly across the Seine from the square.
On Wednesday, the prefecture banned the route and authorized an alternative march between Place de la Republique and Place de la Nation, along Boulevard Voltaire, entirely bypassing the city center. Police prefect Patrice Faure cited the risk of renewed disorder following October 17 and a “national and international context of very high threat.”
Union leaders denounced the ban as a “disgrace,” accusing authorities of undermining the right to demonstrate. The Ile-de-France union group subsequently challenged the ban in court, but it upheld the alternative route late Wednesday, ruling it was “neither inappropriate nor disproportionate” and did not unlawfully infringe fundamental freedoms.
Massive security clampdown
Nearly 250 gatherings are planned as part of the general strike across France on Thursday, with authorities classifying the mobilization as “high-risk,” French media reported. A November 3 intelligence report warned of a possible “new threshold” in violence, particularly in city centers, prompting Interior Minister Laurent Nunez to urge prefects to keep marches away from central areas.
Videos from the French capital show protesters clashing with police.
Speaking late Wednesday, Nunez announced the deployment of 70,000 police officers and gendarmes nationwide, alongside specialized, canine, and mounted units. The authorities have also restricted carrying weapons, protective equipment, and pyrotechnics, ordered checks along transport routes and railway stations, and authorized systematic police intervention in cases of attacks on people or property.
The measures extend the security crackdown launched after the October 17 unrest, with authorities deploying 80,000 to more than 100,000 additional police and gendarmes nationwide over subsequent weekends, backed by armored vehicles, water cannons, and helicopters. Marseille, Lyon, and other cities also banned specific rallies. The Senate late last month approved the controversial “Rioters Pay” bill, proposing fines of up to €10,000 ($11,000) for anyone knowingly participating in a gathering that turns violent, even if they did not cause any damage. The bill has since moved to the National Assembly for a final vote.
Concessions for students, austerity for workers
The French authorities have announced several concessions in response to the unrest, particularly those concerning education. In late October, ministers unveiled a multibillion-euro education package pledging to replace the controversial Parcoursup admissions platform, invest $5.5 billion in aging schools, cap classes at 28 students, create new teaching posts, and scrap planned cuts.
Student unions called the measures positive “initial steps” but vowed to keep pressing for full funding.
The government, however, has refused to meet the unions’ financial demands, insisting it must first pass the austerity budget aimed at trimming spending to address mounting public debt ahead of April’s presidential election. In response, unions across the political spectrum have united in calls for rolling strikes, bringing together air traffic controllers, dockworkers, healthcare personnel, and teachers demanding pay rises in line with inflation.
Unrest spreads across Europe
France is far from alone in facing mass unrest, with strikes, protests, and riots sweeping more than a dozen European countries and further nationwide walkouts planned.
In Germany, industrial action led by IG Metall has hit manufacturing hubs, with the union demanding a 5% pay rise after rejecting an employer offer of just 1.3%, delayed until 2028. The warning strikes follow cost-of-living rallies in Berlin and 30 other cities. In Italy, protests over education funding, housing, and rising military spending have rocked more than 40 cities.
Further regional and sectoral strikes are expected amid tougher government penalties for disruptive demonstrations.
Spain faces a nationwide general strike on November 11 following weeks of protests over soaring rents and evictions. Demonstrators have dismissed government rent caps and temporary eviction protections as inadequate. In Ireland, more than 300,000 public-sector workers, including teachers, nurses, and doctors, are set to strike on November 12 after pay talks collapsed. The walkout coincides with a major European summit in Dublin attended by more than 50 government leaders.
Elsewhere, land-use protests in Albania have escalated into violent clashes demanding the prime minister’s resignation. Brussels and Liege have seen student protests and clashes over education cuts, while Zurich and Basel have witnessed nighttime riots, burning barricades, and property damage.
Although politicians have largely blamed localized issues such as immigration or political factions, analysts point to shared grievances across Europe, including soaring living costs, stagnant wages, unaffordable housing, and deteriorating public services.