“We are here to help them,” says Yellow Vest representative as he joins students in nationwide protest

France’s “yellow vest” movement – made up of a group of unions and citizens – organized a major nationwide demonstration on Saturday to voice its objection to the ongoing cost of living crisis and rising fuel prices hitting the country.

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

Speaking to Euronews, a representative of the movement revealed that the demonstration was organized in part to support the mass student-led protests that have rocked the country in recent weeks, demanding that the government revamp the education system, increase school funding and access to resources, as well as modernize classrooms and institutions.

“We are here to help them, because we have more experience,” the representative said. “We can keep things calm if there are problems with the police or something.”

Originally, two major protests were planned to take place in parallel in the French capital, Paris, each with its own set of demands, although the demands overlap a lot.

A demonstration, organized by the Yellow Vests, was to start from Place de la République, with the final destination being Place de Clichy.

The student demonstration, which shares the starting point, was to march towards Nation with another group marching towards Place de la Concorde.

However, when the protests began, around 2 p.m. local time, they appeared to converge into a large mass demonstration at Place de la République, prompting security personnel to deploy in large numbers. French media say thousands of people flooded the popular Parisian square.

“We all have common demands, whether students, high school students, yellow vests or unions. We are fighting for better public services, more resources, better quality of life, better salaries, etc.,” Karl told the Euronews correspondent in Paris.

“There is less and less money in the public coffers. I don’t know exactly what they should do at the Élysée, nor what laws they should promote, but I know that when I go to the hospital, the means are no longer there,” said Damien, a 22-year-old construction worker who came from Troyes to take part in the protests in Paris.

“We must redistribute wealth, so that everyone can make it to the end of the month without difficulty. We must guarantee that our children have access to a decent education. We must hear the demands of 80% of the population, rather than dismissing them as isolated movements,” Jessica, another yellow vest protester, told Euronews.

“Instead of continuing to say these are isolated incidents, I believe they are going down this path because they have seen us exhausted by previous movements,” she added.

According to eyewitnesses, the protests were largely peaceful. In many places – seen by our correspondents – protesters could be seen peacefully chanting and playing musical instruments. But they quickly turned violent as masked protesters clashed with riot units.

Violent clashes were reported at Place de la République between demonstrators and the police. Dozens of people were arrested and protesters reported tear gas and water cannons were deployed to disperse the masses.

Far-right candidate Marine Le Pen, a candidate in the French presidential election, quickly described the rioters as elements of the far left, whom she accused of having “poisoned” the spirit of the protests.

“Looting, ransacking, destroying, attacking the police: the rioters have once again poisoned the demonstrations of October 17 in defense of purchasing power,” writes Le Pen in a post on X.

“Legitimate social demands are once again taken hostage by the far left and the speeches of Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s deputies who, by legitimizing violence, considering order as oppression and disorder as a right, seek to plunge the country into chaos.”

“We will free them from toxic Macronist policies and protect them from the violence of the far left,” she added.

Beyond Paris, protests took place in several other major cities, including the country’s second largest city, Marseille and Lyon.

Local authorities in Marseille say several people were arrested after protesters managed to enter the city’s town hall after breaking down the doors with security barriers.

Grenoble town hall was also faced with similar incidents during which demonstrators were briefly able to break in. Local authorities reported damage to the building after police forces managed to contain the situation.

In Lyon, demonstrators set fire to a tourist office. The attack occurred in a central square where groups of hooded youths threw fireworks projectiles and mortars at police, who responded with tear gas, dispersal grenades and a water cannon.

The protests follow four weeks of student demonstrations over a range of issues, including teacher absences, overcrowded classrooms and dilapidated facilities.

Rising fuel prices, sparked by the US-Israeli war with Iran and the subsequent closure of the strategic Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s oil usually passes, have worsened an already serious cost of living crisis, causing widespread discontent across the country.

Protesters accuse the government of not doing enough to intervene in the current crises and of mismanagement of public funds. They vowed to continue protesting until their demands were met.