▲ A protest against high inflation in Paris
Protests by students and labor unions protesting a lack of public sector investment and high prices are being held under police control across various regions on the 24th (local time), even though French authorities issued protest restriction orders to prevent a recurrence of violence.
According to AFP, AP, and other news agencies, protests are taking place regionally amid heavy security, with 70,000 police officers, helicopters, and armored vehicles deployed nationwide.
Previously, President Emmanuel Macron announced a policy banning all protests except for permitted union rallies, and multiple regional authorities issued total or partial bans on demonstrations.
In the capital city of Paris, a union march was originally permitted to start from the Place de la Bastille and head east, but the Paris police ordered a last-minute relocation to Porte d'Italie in the southeastern area, far away from the city center.
Protesters marched carrying banners with slogans such as "If we burn, you burn with us" and "The planet is burning and our future is burning with it."
Paris police reported that they confiscated "various prohibited items" by noon that day, but the situation remained generally calm.
Subway stations across downtown Paris were closed.
Major museums and galleries, including the Louvre Museum and the Musée d'Orsay, closed for the day, and the international art fair Art Basel Paris closed early the previous day.
From luxury boutiques to grocery stores, shops prepared for vandalism and looting by boarding up windows with wooden planks and clearing products from display shelves, while some deployed private security.
The Yellow Vest movement has announced additional protests for next Saturday, the 31st.
A representative of the group told reporters at the Place de la Bastille, "We will demonstrate for our right to demonstrate, for the freedom of all of us."
In Lyon, where protests were completely banned, about 150 people gathered in front of universities and police stations, attempting to block roads and pushing ahead with demonstrations.
In response, police deployed tear gas to disperse the crowd.
A 21-year-old student told AFP, "The police are moving really dynamically," adding, "They come to disperse us before protest groups can even form."
Police helicopters patrolled the skies, and armored vehicles and riot police vans lined the streets.
In Nantes, protests were also held to protest high inflation and demand the protection of public services and the realization of financial and social justice.
In Orléans, where a two-day national convention of the far-right party National Rally (RN), led by leading presidential hopeful Marine Le Pen, is being held through the 25th, an anti-far-right rally took place.
Protesters chanted slogans opposing not only Le Pen but also President Emmanuel Macron, shouting, "Macron resign, Le Pen to prison."
Banners carried by the demonstrators read, "Youth say 'no' to the National Rally" and "Hotter than fascists."
Police estimated that 11,000 people participated in the anti-far-right protest, while organizers put the figure at 26,000.
(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)
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