Follow-Up: French Unions Call New March on Oct. 31 and Nationwide Strike on Nov. 5 as Saturday Protest Arrests Reach 1,314
French protest groups and unions on October 25 called for another nationwide march next Saturday, October 31, and a nationwide strike on November 5, according to Reuters, pressing demands over wages, the cost of living and public services. The calls extend a protest wave that began in mid-October into at least early November.
Figures from France's Interior Ministry put turnout at Saturday's October 24 protests at about 410,000 people nationwide, with some 70,000 police officers deployed. Arrests were updated to 1,314, roughly half the previous week's total, and about 50 police officers were injured, down from more than 1,000 the week before. Sporadic clashes were reported in cities including Paris and Marseille. GSM reported Saturday's turnout and initial arrest figures on October 24; this follow-up covers the updated official toll and the unions' new mobilization.
Murielle Guilbert, co-leader of the Solidaires union federation, told BFM TV: "We see an aggregation of anger. We call on people to take to the streets next Saturday." President Emmanuel Macron's term ends next April, his party has lost its parliamentary majority, and the government has limited fiscal room; protesters have described talks with unions and student representatives as insufficient.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：10月17日巴黎抗议现场，示威者举起横幅（资料图）。照片：Jorge Jaramillo，CC BY-SA 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。
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