Follow-Up: France Strike Day Final Turnout: Interior Ministry Counts About 575,000, CGT Claims Nearly 1.6 Million, 448 Arrested
Paris — France's Interior Ministry released final turnout figures on the evening of November 5 for the nationwide strike day: about 575,000 people marched across France, including about 65,000 in Paris — a revision down from a provisional estimate of about 600,000 issued earlier in the day. The CGT union, one of the organizers, put the national total at nearly 1.6 million, with 350,000 in Paris.
The ministry said 448 people had been arrested nationwide as of 6 p.m. and 53 police officers and gendarmes were injured in clashes, while firefighters responded to 86 fires. There were localized clashes in Paris, Lyon, Rennes, Nantes and Marseille, though marches nationwide were largely peaceful.
The 575,000 figure makes November 5 the largest single day of protests since the current movement began in September, surpassing the roughly 550,000 recorded on October 17. Five major union federations called the action in early October to demand across-the-board pay raises, a higher minimum wage and pensions, and changes to the government's 2027 budget draft. The Eiffel Tower was closed all day because of the strike, and about 70,000 police and gendarmes were deployed nationwide.
The Education Ministry put the teachers' strike rate at about 16 percent, while unions claimed more than 52 percent among secondary-school teachers. CGT general secretary Sophie Binet demanded an immediate 10 percent increase in the minimum wage and indexation of pay to prices.
Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu announced late in the day that a "social conference" with unions and employers' organizations will be held at Matignon on November 9 to discuss purchasing power and wages. Unions have said protests will continue until Christmas, and possibly until next spring's presidential election, if their demands are not met.
(Source: French Interior Ministry)
Source: French Interior Ministry
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：巴黎街头游行（资料图）。照片 CC BY 2.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: A protest march in Paris (file photo). CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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