France Faces Third Weekend of Youth Protests Amid Living Cost Concerns
France prepares for a third weekend of youth-led protests over living costs and education, with 70,000 police deployed.
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France is bracing for a third consecutive weekend of youth-led protests, with authorities deploying 70,000 police and gendarmes to manage the unrest. The demonstrations, sparked by rising living costs and dissatisfaction with education, have spread across Europe, with Paris at the center of the turmoil.
Protests Spread Across Europe
Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez warned of a “very high risk” of disorder, particularly after dark on Halloween. Paris police have banned union and “yellow vest” marches through the city center, directing demonstrations along the capital’s outer boulevards from Porte de Bagnolet to Porte de Charenton. Unions and student groups challenged the restrictions in court but lost in a last-minute legal battle.
President Emmanuel Macron emphasized the need to protect shops by keeping marches out of city centers. Police also barred entry to Place de la Republique and Les Halles, both of which were hit by rioting and looting on October 17. Unaccompanied minors face a separate 9 p.m. curfew around the Champs-Elysees, though a Paris court recently suspended an earlier curfew on minors as a serious and illegal infringement of freedom of movement.
Global Youth Movement Gains Momentum
The movement began with high school students protesting school conditions and has since broadened into anger over living costs. Authorities counted about 550,000 protesters nationwide on October 17, when rioters looted hundreds of shops, and 410,000 last Saturday, when rallies were largely peaceful but police made more than 1,300 arrests.
In Germany, a youth initiative called “Gen Z regelt” — roughly “Gen Z’s got this” — urged protests in some 30 cities for education, health, climate protection, and an affordable life. Organizers said more than 140,000 people had signed up online. Berlin police expected about 10,000 people at the Brandenburg Gate, with some shops on the Kurfuerstendamm boulevard boarding up their windows, although authorities said they were unaware of specific threats of violence.
In Barcelona, Spain, Catalan police activated their highest-level alert after an anonymous TikTok network called Blocus urged new gatherings. Rioting there last Saturday led to about 130 arrests, mostly of minors. Italian police were on alert after clashes in Milan, Turin, and Bologna, and calls to protest circulated on TikTok in Belgium, the Netherlands, Austria, Switzerland, and Portugal.
Source: Breitbart
