Massive Crowds Flood Streets on Weekday Amid Protests; Clashes and Arson Erupt Across France

[Anchor]

Protests protesting high living costs have been ongoing in France for two months. A general strike rally joined by major labor organizations brought out the largest number of people to the streets yet on a weekday, with arson and clashes breaking out in various places.

Here is a report from Paris by correspondent Kwon Yeongin.

[Reporter]

Downtown streets are filled with thick tear gas smoke.

People erect wooden planks to build barricades and throw stones.

On November 5 local time, general strike rallies protesting high inflation and other issues were held across France.

All major labor unions participated, and students joined in by staging school blockades.

Police estimated that 600,000 people took part, while organizers put the figure at 1.6 million, with over 100,000 crowds gathering in Paris alone.

Despite it being a weekday, this marks the largest scale since the protests began two months ago.

While the marches ended peacefully in most regions, major clashes erupted once again as the demonstrations drew to a close.

Some radical protesters refusing to disperse clashed with police, leaving around 60 people injured.

As protesters set fires like this, police are attempting to forcibly disperse them.

At a high school in Toulouse, students fired mortar-like fireworks, causing a major fire that heavily damaged the school building.

The school in question has issued an indefinite closure.

Deploying a total of 70,000 police officers nationwide, French authorities arrested 450 people at the scene.

As the protests show no signs of cooling down after two months and are instead growing more intense, the French economy minister is scheduled to hold a press conference on countermeasures today (November 6).

Next week, Prime Lecornu is scheduled to hold talks with labor union leaders, drawing keen attention to whether they can produce solutions to appease public anger.

(Video by: Kim Si-nae | Video editing by: Lee So-young)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.