On Thursday at the Élysée, Emmanuel Macron came out of a security council with one instruction: “the general recommendation is that there should be no demonstrations in the coming days”. For Saturday’s day of action on the cost of living, only the unions will be allowed to march, on routes that skirt the city centres. Lyon and Marseille are closed to marches, and so is central Lille.
80,000
police officers and gendarmes deployed on Saturday, 20,000 more than on the 17th
80,000 uniforms for a single day
Around 80,000 police officers and gendarmes will be deployed, 20,000 more than on 17 October, with the GIGN, the BRI, the RAID, helicopters, water cannon and armoured vehicles. Patrice Faure, the Paris police prefect, invites elected officials and shopkeepers to hire private security, “if they can”.
The pupils get a hearing, the unions get the street
Since 17 October, 2,700 people have been taken into custody and 217 jailed, according to Gérald Darmanin. At Matignon, Sébastien Lecornu talked public order with the parties, not demands. The president receives secondary-school pupils on Friday. Can you give a generation its voice on the day you take away its street?
