France braces for fresh protests in test for Macron's policies

Employees from the public and private sector, from students to retirees. More than 500,000 people are expected to take to the streets across France this Thursday, in a nationwide strike after protests the last three weekends in a row. As frustration over the cost of living has spread far beyond the high school movement that first started last month. France, with Molise. With high school student protests and the demonstrations against the cost of living, The government was under pressure and was forced to start taking action. You can start to speak. All of this gives us momentum for the 5th of November. For the 5th of November. The strike is expected to affect public transport, education, healthcare and public administration. France's trade unions are demanding higher salaries, pensions and minimum wage, a fairer tax system, better policies to fight global warming and revisions to the 2027 draft budget. which is planning to freeze social benefits and cut funding for public services. As with previous protests, there have been concerns over the exact routes that various marches can take. In Paris, for example, protesters will not be allowed to march from Bastille to Concorde. Instead, their route will run from Place de la République to Nation. Anyone protesting elsewhere risks arrest. France's interior minister has said that 70,000 police officers and gendarmes will be deployed. We are extremely vigilant because there's no way we're going to relive in any way whatsoever, even on a small scale, what we went through on the 17th of October. Authorities will be on alert for violence, unauthorised protests, looting and vandalism. During protests last Saturday, 779 people were arrested across France, with no major incidents.