France: social protests turning into urban violence

In the wake of the secondary school protests that have been rocking France for several weeks, and in response to the call from the ‘Yellow Vests’ movement against the high cost of living, more than 500,000 people marched across France on 17 October to voice their demands in the face of the various crises affecting the country. Whilst most of the marches proceeded peacefully, they were also marred by serious violence and caught the police off guard, who were clearly overwhelmed by the scale of the movement. The very next day, the Minister of the Interior himself acknowledged his failure and tendered his resignation to the President, who refused it. Since then, localised curfews have been imposed in certain towns, whilst further demonstrations are planned for 24 October and 5 November. With the presidential elections just a few months away, the lack of sustainable political solutions to restore a severely damaged social dialogue can only benefit the National Rally, which is already leading in all the polls.