France's November 7 protests: 70,000 police and gendarmes deployed as turnout falls below earlier weeks

In brief

• France's November 7 cost-of-living protests drew 70,000 police and gendarmes to security duty.
• The Interior Ministry counted 146,000 demonstrators, while the youth intersyndicale claimed 250,000.
• Authorities reported 360 people detained across France during the day.

Security deployment

The Interior Ministry said the security plan used at the previous Saturday protests would be renewed for November 7, with about 70,000 police officers and gendarmes mobilised across France (Manifestations du 7 novembre : le dispositif de sécurité est « reconduit » avec 70 000 policiers et gendarmes mobilisés, annonce Laurent Nuñez – Le Monde) (Colère sociale : 360 personnes interpellées en France – lefigaro.fr). Authorities said the aim was to contain possible new disorder during the demonstrations.

Turnout and the competing counts

The Interior Ministry put the number of demonstrators nationwide at 146,000 (EN DIRECT, manifestations du 7 novembre : 146 000 personnes ont défilé en France samedi, selon le ministère de l’intérieur, 250 000, selon l’intersyndicale de la jeunesse – Le Monde) (REPLAY. Manifestation du 7 novembre : 250 000 manifestants en France, selon l'intersyndicale de la jeunesse, le ministère de l'Intérieur annonce de son côté 146 000 – ladepeche.fr). The youth intersyndicale gave a far higher figure of 250,000, including 75,000 in Paris. The Paris police prefecture gave a lower count for the capital, 46,000 people. Live coverage noted that attendance dropped sharply during the afternoon compared with earlier weeks.

Route and organisers

In Paris, the march set off from Place de la République and ended at Place de la Nation (EN DIRECT, manifestations du 7 novembre : à Paris, la manifestation quitte la place de la République ; appel à la grève dans l’éducation mardi – Le Monde). The mobilisation was called by unions, student organisations and the Gilets jaunes movement, and was the fourth consecutive Saturday of protests against the rising cost of living. Speakers at the head of the Paris march were representatives of pupil and student groups.

Arrests

Authorities reported 360 people detained across France during the day.

What comes next

The protest movement said it wanted to keep up pressure before a social conference scheduled for Monday at Matignon, the prime minister's office (Mobilisation sociale : malgré une affluence en baisse, les manifestants veulent « maintenir la pression » avant la conférence sociale de lundi à Matignon – Le Monde). Teachers' unions called for a strike in education on Tuesday.

Read also

• France protests over living costs turn violent again as about 320,000 take to the streets
• France braces for fourth weekend of nationwide protests as cost-of-living anger spreads
• France Mobilizes Over 70,000 Forces for Saturday Protests Amid Unrest