France heads into budget week with 410,000 protesters on the streets

The official count cited by France 24 shows 410,000 people took part on 24 October, 110,000 of them in Paris. Organisers counted about 800,000 nationwide and 250,000 in Paris. Turnout the previous Saturday was around 550,000; despite the drop, the movement has called for a new day of action on Saturday 31 October. According to Al Jazeera, more than 70,000 police and gendarmes were deployed, about 20% more than the previous weekend.

Nuñez said on Saturday evening that there had been close to 1,000 arrests and that the number would rise significantly. Sources differ on the comparison with the previous week: France 24 reported 385 arrests by 19.00 on 17 October, while Al Jazeera said more than 2,000 people were detained that day. Twenty-four metro stations were closed in Paris, and the Louvre and the Musée d'Orsay did not open. Protests were banned in at least 4 places, including central Montpellier, Rouen, Nice and Lyon; sources differ on whether Marseille saw a ban or a tightly conditioned permit.

The movement began in mid-September with school occupations over dilapidated buildings and teacher shortages. It has since grown into broad anger over the cost of living and fuel prices. Macron met student representatives for the first time on 23 October and promised more teachers and reform of Parcoursup, the university admissions system. The street pressure collides with the fiscal calendar. According to SBS, Moody's kept France at Aa3 on 23 October but noted that the 2027 budget process coincides with the most widespread protests in recent times. Its base case rests on passage of a deficit-reducing budget. Al Jazeera notes that the presidential election is about 6 months away and Marine Le Pen leads the polls by a wide margin.