France sees its largest protest of the autumn, but union and ministry are far apart on turnout
The strike day for higher wages was largely calm, with clashes in Lyon and a pupil stabbed near Paris.
France's national strike day on Thursday brought almost 1.6 million people onto the streets according to the CGT union, around 350,000 of them in Paris. The Interior Ministry counted almost 600,000 demonstrators in some 180 towns, VRT NWS reports. Europe 1 cites a later ministry count of 575,000 participants, including 65,000 in Paris. According to the news agency AFP, on either count it was the largest mobilisation this autumn.
The unions are demanding a higher minimum wage and higher pay, and are backing the protest by secondary school pupils over conditions in their schools. In their joint call they pointed out that fuel, food, rent and energy are becoming more expensive while wages and pensions lag behind, AP writes. Teachers, public transport staff and energy workers walked out. Around a third of schools were closed and public transport was badly disrupted, according to VRT NWS.
Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez deployed 70,000 officers. Most marches remained calm. In Paris riot police used tear gas to isolate masked rioters on the edges of the march, and there were scuffles in Lyon, Nantes and Orléans too, with several arrests in Lyon. In La Courneuve a 16-year-old pupil was stabbed at a school blockade; the victim is not in a life-threatening condition and a 20-year-old suspect has been arrested. No new national action date had been announced by Thursday evening.