The first major rally took place on September 29. High-school students, already mobilized since mid-September in front of their schools, joined the marches. The mobilization stepped up a notch on October 6, when high-school students, parents, teachers and trade unionists took to the streets. On October 8, the CGT counted about 130,000 demonstrators.
Marches have multiplied in France since the end of September, bringing together high-school students, university students, employees, yellow vests and public-sector workers against the high cost of living, school conditions and the freeze on civil servants’ index point planned in the 2027 budget bill.
These scenes marked a turning point in the mobilization as well as in the security arrangements put in place by the authorities.
Public-sector workers, including firefighters, also demonstrated across France at the call of a broad inter-union coalition against another freeze of the index point. The gap between the CGT’s figures and those of the ministry is particularly large: nearly 1.6 million people versus 575,000, including in Paris (350,000 according to the unions, 65,000 according to the authorities).
The mobilization peaked on a Thursday, during the national day of action for wages and purchasing power called by the inter-union coalition, an initiative joined by high-school students, university students and yellow vests. Nearly 1.6 million people took to the streets, according to the CGT.
The mobilization took on another dimension on October 17. That day, some 800,000 people took part in marches across France, according to several organizations associated with the mobilization, including the CGT, versus 550,000 according to the interior minister. Despite bans on demonstrating and disputes over authorized routes, 800,000 people mobilized again a week later, on October 24, according to the CGT.
On October 13, about 480,000 people demonstrated again, according to the inter-union coalition of student and high-school organizations.