New protests have been called across France against the rising cost of living and higher prices of everyday goods. As many as 780,000 people are expected to take part in Thursday’s demonstrations.
The authorities have deployed 70,000 police officers and gendarmes (police with military status) across the country to keep order.
According to the French broadcaster BFMTV, a forecast by the joint union coalition says 500,000 to 700,000 people could join the protests outside Paris and 40,000 to 80,000 in the capital.
Workers, public employees, pensioners and yellow vest protesters, as well as secondary school and university students, are expected to join the movement, which is demanding higher wages and greater purchasing power. The students’ movement began in mid-September.
Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said on Wednesday that the same security arrangements would be made as for the 31 October protests.
In all, 26 armoured vehicles, about 15 water cannon, helicopters and drones are being deployed. Members of the specialist police units BRI, RAID and GIGN will also be on duty.
Nuñez said the aim of the large deployment was to give protesters routes “as safe as possible”, while keeping marches away from sensitive areas, including the city centre.
An administrative court in Paris rejected organisers’ objections to the protest route, upholding the police prefecture’s route from Place de la République to Place de la Nation.
Unions and student organisations had proposed marching from Place de la Bastille to Place de la Concorde, near the National Assembly. Police refused permission for that route, citing the unrest in the capital on 17 October and fears of rising social tension.
Nationwide strikes are also expected to cause widespread transport disruption. SNCF, France’s national rail operator, said regional services could face moderate to severe disruption, and several suburban lines around Paris are also likely to be affected.
Long-distance services may be less affected: the authorities said one in 10 high-speed TGV trains on those routes would be cancelled.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report