Paris Education Strike March Confined to One Approved Route, Panthéon to Place d'Italie

Education unions — secondary-school students, university students and teachers — called a nationwide education strike and march on Tuesday, November 10. Paris police issued three orders on November 9 approving only one march route: gather at 12:30 p.m. at Place du Panthéon (5th arrondissement), depart at 2 p.m. via Boulevard Saint-Michel, Boulevard de Port-Royal and Avenue des Gobelins, and arrive at Place d'Italie (13th arrondissement), with a rally until 7 p.m.

Bastille route banned; only a static rally allowed

The originally declared route from Place de la Bastille to Pitié-Salpêtrière hospital was banned; only a static rally from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. at 83 Boulevard de l'Hôpital was permitted. Police cited 'particular risks' along a route passing Gare de Lyon and Gare d'Austerlitz. Some student groups nevertheless said they would set off from Bastille at 2 p.m.

49 high schools blocked; 2,000 to 4,000 expected in Paris

The Education Ministry said at 9:30 a.m. on November 10 that 49 of France's 3,700 high schools were blocked, or 1.3%; between 2,000 and 4,000 people were expected in Paris. RATP and SNCF announced no strike for the day, but metro stations along the route could be temporarily closed at police request.

Sources: Paris regional media, US Embassy in France demonstration alert, French Education Ministry.