Cost of living, act II: 410,000 protesters despite the bans, the executive must respond on substance

A week after the violence of 17 October, the second national day of action against the high cost of living took place on Saturday amid very high tension: marches banned or rerouted, curfews, 70,000 police officers and gendarmes deployed. The outcome is mixed, but one thing is clear: social anger is not subsiding.

The facts

According to the Interior Ministry, quoted by franceinfo and L'Express, around 410,000 people demonstrated across France, including 110,000 in Paris. The CGT claims nearly 800,000 participants, including 250,000 in the capital. On 17 October, the authorities had counted around 550,000 protesters, RTBF recalls. Official turnout is therefore down, in a context where many gatherings had been banned.

In Paris, the police prefecture moved the planned route between Bastille and Nation at the last minute to a route between Porte d'Italie and Porte de Vincennes. According to Euronews, the union coalition believed this choice risked "creating the conditions for disorder rather than for calm". The administrative court rejected the challenge against this change. Partial or total bans also targeted Lyon, Marseille, Nice, Montpellier, Bordeaux and Limoges, some of them suspended by the administrative courts, according to RTBF.

The marches were largely peaceful, but clashes broke out at the end of the day. According to L'Express, police used tear gas and water cannon in the 20th arrondissement of Paris, paving stones were thrown at the security forces in Bordeaux, and tensions were reported in Lille, Lyon, Rennes and Limoges. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez reported nearly 1,000 arrests nationwide, Europe 1 and Euronews report. In Orléans, between 13,000 and 26,000 people marched peacefully against the Rassemblement national congress, according to L'Express.

The movement is already announcing what comes next: an "act 3" on 31 October and a cross-sector strike on 5 November, according to the Les Français.press website, with the CGT calling for a general strike on that date.

The positions at stake

The government stands by its firmness. Sébastien Lecornu said the threat level "remains high", pointing to the ultra-left and criminality, according to Euronews. His argument deserves a hearing: after 17 October, nearly 3,000 shops were vandalised and Limoges city hall was set on fire, according to RTBF. A State that lets its public buildings burn fails in its first duty. The Prime Minister says he wants to pursue both a return to order and the opening of social talks on business support and the budget, Les Français.press reports. Emmanuel Macron, who had refused Laurent Nuñez's resignation, asked him to change his methods against rioters, according to AFP.

On the other side, the unions denounce a strategy of fear. Sophie Binet, general secretary of the CGT, hailed on X a "massive and peaceful" mobilisation "despite the provocations". After her meeting at Matignon, she had said there had been "no consideration of our demands". Amnesty International speaks of "a slide towards authoritarian practices", and the Ligue des droits de l'homme has challenged several orders in court, according to RTBF. On the legal side, constitutional expert Benjamin Morel reminds Public Sénat that a ban must remain proportionate and be justified by a specific threat.

In law, you cannot have a general ban on demonstrating — Benjamin Morel

Another issue weighs on trust. According to an investigation by Mediapart published on Monday, reported by Paris Match, the government allegedly asked territorial intelligence to blame LFI for the violence of 17 October. This information has not been officially confirmed, and LFI has announced its intention to bring the matter before the Cour de justice de la République. On the right, Jordan Bardella on the contrary accuses the executive of having abandoned its role, according to AFP.

Analysis

The Gaullist tradition does not separate order from legitimacy. The authority of the State is not measured by the number of armoured vehicles in the streets, but by its ability to win acceptance for its decisions. Rioters serve no cause: they hit shopkeepers, working-class neighbourhoods and peaceful protesters themselves first. Punishing them is a necessity.

But confusing hundreds of thousands of citizens with a violent minority would be a political mistake. The drop in official turnout may reflect the bans and fear of unrest as much as fatigue. The demands, for their part, have not changed: purchasing power, public services, fiscal and social justice. None of these questions can be settled by a prefectoral order.

Recent history shows it. In 2006, faced with the mobilisation against the first employment contract (CPE), Jacques Chirac eventually had the measure replaced. That choice was not a capitulation: it was the recognition that a reform without public support does not hold.

What now?

Between now and 5 November, the executive has a narrow window. A social conference bringing together unions, employers and local authorities, with wages, margins on essential goods and fiscal justice in the 2027 budget on the agenda, would be a sign of seriousness. It should be accompanied by full transparency before Parliament on the handling of public order and on the allegations reported by Mediapart. Can the Republic regain the trust of the street without first giving it answers?

Article written with the help of artificial intelligence.