France nationwide strike and protest mobilization on November 5, Digi Mart USA News (France): Around fifty high school students blocked their school in the Paris region on the morning of Thursday, November 5, before being dispersed by police. Shortly afterward, law enforcement removed trash bins and bicycles to allow access to the institution, and the day of mobilization began as early as 5 a.m.
One high school student said that the protests would continue as long as police responded violently. Others had already prepared the previous evening, Wednesday, November 4.
A vocational high school teacher was set to take part in one of the 250 demonstrations listed across the country that Thursday.
Marion Dupré, co-secretary general of the CGT Éduc’action 06 union, described the day as a turning point. She said it was a call for a general strike, not limited to national education but involving all interprofessional unions, and renewable.
Unions called on active workers, retirees and young people to gather around shared demands, including a broad increase in wages, tax justice and better conditions for studying. Yohan Odivart, departmental secretary of SNES-FSU in the Marne, said the government had not seriously responded to students’ demands and he hoped the movement would grow to involve all French people.
More than 17% of strikers were expected in nursery and primary schools. Authorities expected close to 800,000 people in the streets overall, and significant disruptions were anticipated on rail transport, mainly on regional lines and on the RER in the Île-de-France region.
