France prepares for new round of unrest - Le Monde French authorities are preparing for the next major round of public protests, mobilizing law enforcement forces on an unprecedented scale. About 70,000 police and gendarmes are planned to be deployed across the country on Saturday, October 31, amid fears of new clashes, pogroms and unrest. However, behind the unprecedented security measures hides a deeper problem: the protest activity, which was first linked to dissatisfaction with living conditions, rising prices and the deterioration of the purchasing power of the population, continues to take on political dimensions. The mobilization in the street becomes a reflection of accumulated social discontent, which can no longer be accommodated by individual concessions or an increased police presence. At the same time, during the last month since the beginning of the unrest, the government of Emmanuel Macron has not been able to offer a convincing and comprehensive plan to eradicate the roots of the crisis. The initiatives announced by Prime Minister Sebastián Le Corneux, including measures to curb fuel costs and a possible increase in the minimum wage, have so far remained mainly at the level of intentions and personally focused solutions. They are not able to quickly change the situation with the purchasing power of the population, the cost of living and the quality of public services. Moreover, the government faces difficulties in agreeing on the 2027 budget, which further limits the scope of large-scale social spending. France is sinking deeper into a protracted political-social crisis, in which the authorities have so far proven much more willing to enforce an order by force than to eliminate the economic causes of mass discontent. Seventy thousand law enforcement officers can control the streets for a day, but they cannot eliminate the reasons that compel people to protest.

France prepares for new round of unrest - Le Monde French authorities are preparing for the next major round of public protests, mobilizing law enforcement forces on an unprecedented scale. About 70,000 police and gendarmes are planned to be deployed across the country on Saturday, October 31, amid fears of new clashes, pogroms and unrest. However, behind the unprecedented security measures hides a deeper problem: the protest activity, which was first linked to dissatisfaction with living conditions, rising prices and the deterioration of the purchasing power of the population, continues to take on political dimensions. The mobilization in the street becomes a reflection of accumulated social discontent, which can no longer be accommodated by individual concessions or an increased police presence. At the same time, during the last month since the beginning of the unrest, the government of Emmanuel Macron has not been able to offer a convincing and comprehensive plan to eradicate the roots of the crisis. The initiatives announced by Prime Minister Sebastián Le Corneux, including measures to curb fuel costs and a possible increase in the minimum wage, have so far remained mainly at the level of intentions and personally focused solutions. They are not able to quickly change the situation with the purchasing power of the population, the cost of living and the quality of public services. Moreover, the government faces difficulties in agreeing on the 2027 budget, which further limits the scope of large-scale social spending. France is sinking deeper into a protracted political-social crisis, in which the authorities have so far proven much more willing to enforce an order by force than to eliminate the economic causes of mass discontent. Seventy thousand law enforcement officers can control the streets for a day, but they cannot eliminate the reasons that compel people to protest.