France’s Interior Ministry counted 146,000 demonstrators nationwide on Saturday, including 46,000 in Paris, as protests over living costs and public services entered a fourth consecutive weekend, CNBC reported¹.

A youth union alliance put attendance at 250,000 nationally and 75,000 in the capital, according to the same account¹. At least 360 people were arrested across the country, CNBC said, citing an AFP report of a ministry tally¹.

Police used tear gas as the main Paris march ended at Place de la Nation, after people threw projectiles, CNBC reported, citing AFP¹. Garbage cans were set alight as protesters and police clashed in several cities, according to CNBC’s account of Le Monde¹.

Police blocked a separate, banned Yellow Vest gathering at Place de la Concorde and arrested two movement leaders, CNBC said, citing Le Monde¹. The Yellow Vests emerged in 2018 over fuel-tax increases and later broadened into protests over living costs and President Emmanuel Macron’s policies¹.

Saturday’s turnout was lower than on the previous three weekends and below union-led demonstrations on Nov. 5, when the Interior Ministry counted 575,000 people nationwide¹. The current wave began in late September with high-school students seeking better conditions, before university students and unions joined¹.

The protests followed a vote in which French lawmakers rejected the revenue section of the 2027 budget, CNBC reported¹. The government’s original proposal now goes to the Senate, which is scheduled to begin debating it Nov. 20¹.

Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu is due to meet labor and employer representatives Monday to discuss wages and purchasing power, CNBC reported¹.

Sources

1. CNBCIn pictures: France protests draw 146,000 as clashes erupt for fourth straight weekend4:29 AM

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