Joyous and playful, the people of Paris are marching

Europe / 9 November 2026 Twenty refugees found dead off Crete ‘show repression of the uprooted,’ say Greek communists 9 November 2026 South Asia / 9 November 2026 Hasina passport request raises suspicion of planned political comeback 9 November 2026 Diplomacy / 9 November 2026 Talks under way to prevent renewed outbreak of Iran war 9 November 2026 Middle East / 9 November 2026 Gaza authorities slam ‘complete absence’ of Board of Peace as floods claim lives across Strip 9 November 2026 World / 8 November 2026 Russian communists celebrate anniversary of October Revolution on Red Square 8 November 2026 East Asia / 8 November 2026 Taiwan arrests communist candidate standing in local elections 8 November 2026 TODAY saw a 75,000-strong march of students through central Paris whose atmosphere was joyous and playful. Teachers, parents and senior citizens joined in in solidarity.

They were cheered along by unions, notably the communist-aligned CGT.

Everyone knows the slogans that ripple through the vast crowd like catchy riffs: “Young people detest the cops;” “We are bored sh*tless by the National Front,” along with jugglers, brass bands and dancing superheroes atop the bus shelters.

This was the students’ “extention” to Thursday’s general strike when the students cheered the unions, and the latest in a series that enacts a convergence, and a mutual political education between different sectors in society.

There were no speeches, but everyone understands the agenda: this is a crisis of capitalism and a celebration of left solidarity.

In contrast to the Palestine solidarity marches in Britain that express moral outrage at imperialist crimes, this is about the economy, and every second placard contains a specific grievance and an achievable aim. “Link salaries to inflation” for example.

It was entirely peaceful, if heavily policed, and any representation of it as violent is totally misleading.

Our own unions, student unions and anti-war protests would profit from the shared experience, and it’s worth a trip to Paris, right now.

France / 6 November 2026 More protests due in Paris as Lecornu calls conference to discuss union demands 6 November 2026 Europe / 5 November 2026 France on strike: 1,500 walkouts and 250 marches for a different future 5 November 2026 Hundreds of thousands took to the streets of France today as unions mounted a massive wave of strikes against government cuts, falling living standards and attacks on public services — piling pressure on Macron’s embattled government

Europe / 25 October 2026 Police and protesters clash across France 25 October 2026 Europe / 23 October 2026 France 2026 and the collapse of the European consensus 23 October 2026 BEN WOODWARD surveys the underlying causes of the mass turmoil rocking European countries and the role of the younger generation of activists who have come into mass mobilisations