More protests due in Paris as Lecornu calls conference to discuss union demands

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PROTESTS will continue in France tomorrow as unions and the grassroots Yellow Vests maintain pressure for pay rises and an end to cuts.

The five big unions who organised Thursday’s mass walkouts will march the same route they did then through central Paris, with police agreement. But the prefecture has banned the rally called by the Yellow Vests on the Place de la Concorde.

The Yellow Vests are calling on protesters from across France to “disobey en masse,” risking the €135 (£113) fine police can impose on people for attending an unauthorised demonstration.

Police still expect major disruption, and have ordered the closure of 14 Paris Metro stations. Numbers remain uncertain: the 1.6 million who demonstrated across France on Thursday marked the largest national mobilisation yet, but weekend demos have shrunk since their mid-October peak — though last Saturday’s 70,000-strong march through Paris would still be considered huge in ordinary times.

The 1,500 strikes and 250-plus demos passed off mainly peacefully, though there were clashes with police in Lyon, Rennes and some other centres. Police said 448 people were arrested on Thursday.

Unions remain militant and see Thursday’s mass strikes as the start of sustained escalation. “The question is not whether we will win but how much we will win,” CGT leader Sophie Binet told the crowds that day.

Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu has called a “social conference” with unions and employers on Monday to discuss concessions.

But the French Communist Party (PCF) said: “As long as the government does not announce strong measures for young people, for raising wages and pensions and against the high cost of living, the PCF will call for escalating mobilisations.”

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