In Paris, the police prefecture's count measures the ebb. In mid-afternoon, it tallied 46,000 people in the procession, compared with 65,000 on Thursday, AFP reported.
It was the fourth consecutive Saturday of mobilization and the second day of processions of the week. On Thursday, large-scale demonstrations had already taken place at the unions' call, amounting to two days of street action within the space of a few days.
The calendar weighs as much as the turnout. Monday's meetings with the government come after a week already marked by two days of marches, Thursday then Saturday, and after four successive Saturdays of mobilization.