More than 100,000 march across France as protests enter fifth weekend

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Tens of thousands of protesters paraded in the streets of France yesterday, some clambering up statues with French flags as they vented on issues ranging from ...

PARIS, Nov 15 — Tens of thousands of protesters paraded in the streets of France yesterday, some clambering up statues with French flags as they vented on issues ranging from the rising cost of living to a proposal to give police greater legal protection.

The European Union’s second largest economy has been gripped by high-school blockades and mass demonstrations for more than a month, with the far right leading in the polls to win presidential elections next year to replace Emmanuel Macron.

Around 106,000 people took to the streets nationwide, including 24,000 in Paris, the interior ministry said, in the lowest turnout in recent weeks.

Student unions put the number of demonstrators at 200,000, including almost 100,000 in the capital.

“No justice, no peace,” a protester shouted into a megaphone in Paris as people including students, unions and Yellow Vest activists demonstrated for the fifth Saturday in a row.

Others called for the president to resign, or cried “Everybody hates the police”, as a group carried a giant puppet whose hat read “Lord Macron”.

Some of the largely peaceful rallies in recent weeks have seen fringe violence, as well as accusations of police brutality, including against young teenagers.

Adrien, a 20-year-old cello player in a volunteer orchestra at the Paris rally, said the focus of the day was a new bill in parliament to give police who use their weapons further protection.

“We’re scared when we come to a protest, and this will only make us even more afraid if their impunity is strengthened,” he said, after tear gas fell on protesting musicians last month.

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