France’s Emmanuel Macron says ‘illegitimate’ protests will be banned as cities block demonstrations

Inja News اکتبر 22, 2026 2 minutes read

Thursday’s planned protests were seen as a prelude to Saturday’s big demonstration, when activists from the “yellow vest ” movement, whose demonstrations over fuel prices shook France in 2018 and 2019, are expected to join.

Some of those protests, including marches in Lyon, will also be banned, local authorities said.

Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu, who met union representatives on Wednesday, said a “massive” security operation was planned for Saturday to prevent a repeat of the violence by small groups of rioters that had exposed shortcomings in security measures.

Union representatives said their meeting with Lecornu did not result in concrete proposals. They are now focusing on another big day of action scheduled on Nov. 5, and called on private and public sector employees to join.

The demonstrations first erupted last month in a high school in Creteil, southeast of Paris, over a lack of staff. From there, class strikes, blockades and demonstrations spread to other Paris suburbs and then nationwide, even in smaller towns.

High school students have raised concerns about underfunded schools, dilapidated facilities and staff shortages, particularly in lower-income neighborhoods. Some also called for a reform of the university admissions system, seen by many as complex and unfair.

With the government unable to respond to students’ demands, the school demonstrations and blockades have morphed into larger protests over soaring living costs, just months before next year’s presidential election to choose Macron’s successor.

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