France faces fifth weekend of protests as new grievances take centre stage

Résumé détaillé

Some of the largely peaceful rallies have seen fringe violence, as well as accusations of police brutality.

Some of the largely peaceful rallies have seen fringe violence, as well as accusations of police brutality.

PARIS: France faces more rallies on Saturday (Nov 14), with demonstrators venting frustrations ranging from inflation to opposition to a new police bill at the latest protests.

The European Union's second-largest economy has been gripped by high-school blockades and cost-of-living demonstrations for more than a month, ahead of presidential elections next year that the far right sees as its best chance of seizing power.

Some of the largely peaceful rallies have seen fringe violence, as well as accusations of police brutality.

People were to take to the streets for the fifth Saturday in a row, with a main rally in Paris from 1.00pm (1200 GMT) and dozens of other gatherings across the country.

In the capital, the Yellow Vest movement would join high-school students, unions and other activists fighting for children's rights or opposed to a bill to give police more protection in their use of weapons.

"Society's in bad shape," said Claire Bourdille, from a collective battling violence against children and teenagers. "We can't focus on one cause more than another."

Activists have in recent months demanded better protection for children against sexual abuse.

Others will be protesting against a new bill in parliament to grant police who use their weapons a presumption of legitimate self-defence.

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