France: Mass protests and school blockades mark fourth national strike

France was gripped by a nationwide day of strikes and demonstrations on Thursday 5 November, as trade unions mobilised workers, students and other protesters to demand higher wages, tax justice and better public services. By 1 pm, the Interior Ministry had counted 270,000 demonstrators across 180 marches outside Paris, while the CGT reported more than 250,000 participants in 73 cities. Around 70,000 police officers and gendarmes were deployed nationwide, 81 secondary schools were blockaded and 15.81% of teachers joined the strike. In Marseille, thousands marched from Les Réformés towards Place Castellane, waving union flags and lighting flares as police monitored the procession. Seventeen metro stations were closed. In Nantes, around 30,000 people took to the streets according to organisers, compared with a police estimate of 24,000, after unions secured permission to march through the city centre. In Paris, tensions erupted outside Lycée Honoré-de-Balzac in the 17th arrondissement, where police used tear gas to disperse students protesting a lack of resources for education. Footage showed a firework exploding above the crowd, cardboard burning in a bin outside the school gates and officers moving in to clear the area. Police also dismantled another student blockade on Rue de Rivoli. The capital's main union march set off from Place de la République at 2 pm, following a route imposed by authorities towards Place de la Nation. The mobilisation marked another major test of the autumn protest movement, bringing together workers, students and public-sector employees amid growing demands for improved pay and working conditions.