Paris 'Act V' protests draw 106,000 across France; 121 arrested as police fire tear gas

France saw a fifth consecutive Saturday of anti-government protests on Saturday, November 14. The Interior Ministry said about 106,000 people marched nationwide, including 24,000 in Paris, the lowest turnout in recent weeks; student unions put the figures far higher, at 200,000 nationwide and nearly 100,000 in Paris. The marches were largely peaceful, but police fired tear gas in Paris, Bordeaux and Nantes, and 121 people had been arrested nationwide by 6 p.m.

Paris march follows approved route; clashes at Place de la Nation as it ends

Three Paris marches shared an approved route, setting off in the afternoon from Place de la République, via Place de la Bastille, to Place de la Nation, over the cost of living, children's rights and a bill giving police officers greater legal protection when they use their weapons, which opponents call a "licence to kill" law. Police had the RATP close 21 metro stations, from Châtelet to Bastille and from the Champs-Élysées to Les Invalides, and RER D was suspended through central Paris all day. Footage cited by AFP showed riot police firing tear gas and charging young protesters near Place de la Nation as the march ended; local reports said police acted after a group tried to leave the agreed route.

Turnout figures diverge; last week was larger

The Interior Ministry's figures — 106,000 nationwide and 24,000 in Paris — were down from 146,000 nationwide and 46,000 in Paris last Saturday, while student unions estimated 200,000 nationwide and nearly 100,000 in the capital. Marseille's prefecture banned protests for the weekend, but about 3,500 people still marched and police used tear gas and a water cannon; about 8,000 marched in Lyon, where fires were lit in the street and police used tear gas.

Strikes called for Tuesday, the eighth anniversary of the Yellow Vests

Unions have called another day of strikes and marches for Tuesday, November 17, rejecting the government's promise to raise the minimum wage by 0.6 percent as "crumbs"; France's largest union, the CFDT, has also joined the strike call. The day marks the eighth anniversary of the Yellow Vest movement. The protests, which began on October 17 over education and the cost of living, have broadened into opposition to President Emmanuel Macron's economic policies and the police-weapons bill.

(Sources: AFP; French Interior Ministry; Sortiraparis; franceinfo.)