Students and workers are expected to join school pupils on Saturday in demonstrations planned for Paris and other major French cities, according to announcements by trade unions. The pupils have been demonstrating for more than a month, and the government has signalled that any disruption to roads and infrastructure will be met with a firm response.
Who is expected to take part
The “yellow vests” movement is also expected to join the protests. Its demonstrations against rising fuel prices led to widespread unrest in France in 2018 and 2019.
Interior minister’s warning
Speaking to France 2 television on Friday, French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said he expected “quite a large turnout” of demonstrators.
He referred to more than five hundred “spontaneous gatherings”, “public demonstrations” and “blockades of roads and infrastructure”, adding that these “will not be tolerated”.
Request for a crisis unit
Mr Nuñez asked Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu to convene an interministerial crisis unit dedicated to the protests.
Disagreement over the Paris route
The tension was also reflected in a statement by the Paris police chief, who said no agreement had yet been reachedbetween his service and the organisers on the route of the march in the capital.
The disagreement concerns the demonstration’s final destination. The march is due to start at Place de la Bastille.
This is a developing story.
Source: CNA
