French nationwide strike over cost of living and wages, November 5, 2026, Digi Mart USA News (France): On Thursday, November 5, unions called on employees and civil servants to strike over wages and the high cost of living. According to the CGT union, nearly 1.6 million people took part in demonstrations across France, including 350,000 in Paris.
The Interior Ministry, in a preliminary figure published at 5 p.m., counted nearly 600,000 demonstrators nationwide. In both counts, it was the largest mobilization on a single day this autumn.
The day was generally peaceful, although serious disturbances were reported near Toulouse, where hooded youths entered the Françoise de Tournefeuille high school and fired mortars, causing fires.
In La Courneuve (Seine-Saint-Denis), a high school student was stabbed in the chest near the Denis Papin high school during the protests. The attack occurred close to the school, whose access was blocked.
Mayor Aly Diouara said on X that the victim’s life was not in danger. An 18-year-old suspect was arrested shortly after the incident and placed in police custody, and investigators are working to determine the exact circumstances of the attack.
Météo-France placed the Gard and Hérault departments on orange rain-flood vigilance on Thursday, joining Corse-du-Sud and Haute-Corse, which were already on alert. The weather service forecasts a “disturbed situation in the Mediterranean,” particularly on the eastern coast of Corsica, with “lasting” rain expected on the island and on coastal departments of the mainland, mainly Gard and Hérault.
Bouches-du-Rhône could also be affected, and to a lesser extent Var.
