Unions vow to keep pressure on French government after fourth wave of protests

Sophie Vénétitay, secretary-general of the SNES-FSU, said her union was angry to be excluded from talks on Monday between government ministers and  private-sector employers and employees.

"It's as if public-sector salaries, and therefore those in education, were not a priority and could be put off until a few days later," Vénétitay told French broadcaster RMC.

"We have seen that the government is very responsive to pressure. It responded to pressure from secondary-school students.

"The objective is to maintain pressure on the government."

Ministers will meet secondary-school and university student representatives to discuss education and Parcoursup – the university entrance platform – in a separate meeting on Monday

Public-sector unions, including those representing teachers, are due to hold talks with the government on 13 November.

“The protest movement is in a position of strength, the government is in a position of weakness and is beginning to back down,” the inter-union alliance of the CGT, FSU, FO, SUD, USL, UNEF, Union étudiante, FAGE and FSE said in a statement on Saturday.

"Now is the time to step up the mobilisation by continuing to put pressure on the government."

The call for further demonstrations came as thousands of people took to the streets across the country on Saturday to complain about the poor conditions in schools and the rising cost of living.

Arrests during nationwide protests

The Interior Ministry said 360 people were arrested during the protests.

Saturday's rallies came 48 hours after a general strike over the same issues.

Some 70,000 police and gendarmes were deployed Saturday to prevent a repeat of the violence that marred the first protests on 17 October.

Authorities said they expected up to 170,000 people to demonstrate nationwide during the fourth consecutive Saturday of rallies including 60,000 in Paris.

But the interior ministry reported 146,000 people.

Unions march in Paris

Trade unions staged a march along a traditional route, from the Place de la Republique in central Paris to Place de la Nation in the east of the city.

But the Yellow Vests movement – a group whose protests shook Emmanuel Macron's government in 2018 – called for a rival demonstration at the Place de la Concorde in central Paris, near the president's official residence and the lower house of parliament. However, the protest was banned by the authorities.

In Lyon, south-eastern France, police fired tear gas to disperse several hundred people in the city centre blocking a road during an unauthorised gathering.

Investigations into police response

The police response to the high school pupil protests and at the Saturday demonstrations has faced criticism for being heavy-handed.

Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez told French MPs on the National Assembly's law committee last month that the national police inspectorate had launched 18 inquiries into police conduct during the demonstrations.

France mobilises 70,000 police and gendarmes for Saturday protests

On Friday, the international news agency AFP called for protection for its journalists after it reported several instances of alleged police brutality against its reporters.

Press freedom watchdog Reporters Without Borders said it had recorded 40 cases of journalists being obstructed in their coverage of the demonstrations by members of the security forces, including 21 cases involving physical violence.

Local businesses are also feeling the pain. "All this can't go on, otherwise I think it will be a disaster before long," said Paris shop manager Jean-Emile Moulinier, whose store lies along the main protest route.