France Sees Fifth Straight Saturday of Protests as Unions Plan Strike
Thousands marched across France on Saturday, November 14, 2026, the fifth Saturday of nationwide protests. The interior ministry counted 106,000 people, organisers 200,000. Unions have called a new strike for Tuesday after rejecting a 0.6% minimum wage rise.
France saw a fifth consecutive Saturday of nationwide protests on November 14, 2026, with the interior ministry estimating 106,000 people took to the streets, including 24,000 in Paris. Organisers put the figure at 200,000, including 100,000 in the capital.
Yellow Vest activists, students and education unions joined the marches. Their complaints range from the rising cost of living and school funding to child protection and a new police bill.
Turnout was lower than usual. The largest protest in recent weeks came on Thursday, during a union-led strike, when more than half a million people marched across the country.
Unions have called another day of strike action for next Tuesday. They rejected the government's promise to raise the minimum wage by 0.6%, saying it is not enough.
France has been rocked by school blockades and protests for more than a month.
In Paris, many demonstrators gathered at the Place de la Republique, a traditional rallying point. Marius Mesnil, Co-Secretary-General of the Union Syndicale Lycéenne, listed the students' demands: "We're asking to have teachers when we go to class. We're asking to not have ceilings collapsing on us when we eat in the canteen."
Benjamin Ball, a Yellow Vest member, dismissed the government's wage offer. "The government has only given us crumbs, and we want the whole bakery," he said.
Protesters also oppose a police bill that would give officers and gendarmes extra protection when they use firearms on duty. Supporters, including Marine Le Pen's far-right party, currently the favourite in opinion polls for the presidential race, say it would stop officers being automatically presumed guilty of excessive force.
Unions call it a "license to kill" and say it would make accountability harder. Sabrine Kharbach, spokesperson for the Student Union, said the bill, due for a vote next week, means "a police officer who fires will first be presumed to have acted lawfully."
In Toulouse, in southern France, Kenza, 28, joined the march. "The repression of protesters is unacceptable, especially when children are involved," she said.
Last week, lawyers representing at least 18 people injured at recent protests said they would sue the interior ministry over alleged police brutality, according to local media. They said police force had caused "mutilations," including injuries to hands, feet and eyes.
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