(Adnkronos) – Great mobilization tomorrow in France against the high cost of living, with 250 gatherings and 80 processions planned throughout the day: “This morning we have just over forty notifications,” announced Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez, who spoke of “a rather substantial mobilization.” The Minister today convened a videoconference with the prefects as part of the preparations for tomorrow’s day, which will see student demands converge in the square along with those of farmers, workers, and climate defenders: it is no coincidence that slogans such as ‘gilet jeunes’ (instead of jaunes) or ‘jeunes et jaunes’ (young and yellow) have appeared on social media or in demonstrations. A convergence explained in a few words by the national secretary of the Union syndicale lycéenne, Lydia Hamadene: “we are the students and workers of tomorrow”.
The demands of a mobilization that brings together ‘yellow vests’, farmers, and private hire vehicle drivers ‘align’ with those of young people, stated Cgt union leader Sophie Binet on France Inter, disputing the government’s hypothesis of a waning high school student movement. “What we observe on the ground is how deep the anger is” which “is extending to students, even from the most prestigious private schools,” she noted. “If the government thinks it can get away with superficial announcements or by buying time, it is deeply deluding itself,” she added, inviting the executive to abolish Parcoursup, one of the demands of the high school student mobilization, and to “profoundly modify this budget project.” “We must understand the gravity of the situation: today, buying tomatoes, zucchini, or filling up with petrol has become a luxury. There are millions of workers who are completely suffocated and can no longer make ends meet,” explained the general secretary of the Cgt.
In an intelligence note, dated yesterday and consulted by Bfmtv, law enforcement expects between 60,000 and 110,000 demonstrators across France, excluding Paris, where between 20,000 and 40,000 people could march. Law enforcement also states that “the risks of violent acts and assaults against law enforcement at the margins of the most important processions in city centers are confirmed.” They fear “sudden, ill-prepared, and offensive actions”.
On France 2, the Interior Minister meanwhile announced that in case of a blockade, “if someone were to obstruct traffic or access to essential facilities, obviously the instructions I have given to the prefects are to unblock the situation.” In large cities, he added, “the far-left, very often at the end of the procession, causes acts of vandalism and tries to escalate these demonstrations”.
Questioned about the use of stun grenades, for which the minister had preventively suspended the use of the Ef-Son model in the context of the student movement after a serious incident involving a fifteen-year-old, Laurent Nuñez declared that “tomorrow this type of weaponry can be used. The instructions I have given are very clear: police officers and gendarmes must be able to use all intermediate weapons at their disposal. From tear gas grenades to defense projectile launchers”.
