Visitors couldn’t go up the Eiffel Tower in Paris on Thursday, as the monument shut its doors during weeks of protests across France. Its official website said a nationwide strike, which has also affected schools and train services, led to the closure.
Striking workers took to the streets across France on Thursday in a fresh wave of protests over the rising cost of living, and news agency AFP reported that hundreds of thousands were expected to join. The major labour union CGT said more than 250,000 people had joined demonstrations in 73 cities by the afternoon.
Fresh protests in France
Another test awaits President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday, as hundreds of thousands are expected to march through French cities and public workers walk out. Weeks of unrest have rattled his government and dominated the agenda, with a presidential election five months away.
Trade unions, including the left-wing CGT, called the mobilisation, and student groups are backing it. It comes after protests over living costs, public services and education set off the worst civil unrest France has seen in years. CGT head Sophie Binet told LCI TV, “We need to turn up in big numbers on the streets today.”
Security forces were caught off guard by the October 17 riots and looting, which left shops and public buildings damaged across France. Authorities are now working to defuse tensions, while criticism of Macron’s handling of the crisis grows.
France protests
Weeks of massive protests have shaken France, Europe’s largest economy, while the government struggles to manage its finances. With the election to pick President Emmanuel Macron’s successor just six months away, the far right is leading in opinion polls.
It all began with students protesting the worsening conditions in their schools. That fed into broader public anger over the cost of living and inequality, and the tension peaked in the riots of October 17, which were described as France’s worst in years.
French riot police reportedly used tear gas and charged at a group of protesters in Lyon on Thursday, marking a fresh escalation. Trade unions, among them the left-wing CGT, called the latest nationwide demonstrations, with student groups lending their support.
BFM TV reported that a high school near Toulouse, in southwestern France, was set ablaze on Thursday morning. Earlier in the day, high school students and other demonstrators in Paris clashed with riot police after putting up a barricade of rubbish bins across a street.
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