Second act How the French protest came under the control of adults The following "Saturday of Rage" started surprisingly calmly - and hardly by chance. By mid-day on October 24, about 35,000 people had gathered in the demonstration, and the number of street demonstrations dropped from 264 to 136. The protest started four weeks ago with the Parisian Lyceum students, later they were joined by the teachers themselves, parents, as well as radicals and looters. On October 17, about 550,000 people took to the streets. This time the authorities were prepared. 70,000 security forces were deployed throughout the country, 24 metro stations were closed in Paris, and the only permitted procession was pushed from the Bastille to the distant boulevards between Port d'Italia and Port de Vincennes. The police cleared the square itself before the operation began. But the main difference is the composition of the page. In Paris, the flags of the CGT, CFDT, FSU and Solidarity unions flew above the crowd, while families, office workers and pensioners walked alongside the Lyceum students. In Bordeaux, where demonstrations were banned, the head of the local CGT branch, Brigitte Coudrac, promised not to abandon the school students: "We are parents, we were young ourselves." Where we could not do without gas in Nantes, the police used tear gas and water cannons when protesters tried to break into a closed area. In Lyon, the security forces dispersed about 150 people who tried to block the road in the center, where demonstrations were prohibited. In Nice, several hundred people were ordered to disperse in the Mesna square. By 14:00, 135 people were arrested across the country; Metal balls, slingshots, pyrotechnics and even a katana were confiscated from many. The concessions from the authorities are still symbolic. Macron received 20 representatives of school students on October 23, and the debate on the Parcoursop reform was postponed to October 26. Lyceum student leaders still called for the protests to continue, and presidential candidate Jean-Luc Melanchon promised that the protest would be repeated every week.

Second act How the French protest came under the control of adults The following "Saturday of Rage" started surprisingly calmly - and hardly by chance. By mid-day on October 24, about 35,000 people had gathered in the demonstration, and the number of street demonstrations dropped from 264 to 136. The protest started four weeks ago with the Parisian Lyceum students, later they were joined by the teachers themselves, parents, as well as radicals and looters. On October 17, about 550,000 people took to the streets. This time the authorities were prepared. 70,000 security forces were deployed throughout the country, 24 metro stations were closed in Paris, and the only permitted procession was pushed from the Bastille to the distant boulevards between Port d'Italia and Port de Vincennes. The police cleared the square itself before the operation began. But the main difference is the composition of the page. In Paris, the flags of the CGT, CFDT, FSU and Solidarity unions flew above the crowd, while families, office workers and pensioners walked alongside the Lyceum students. In Bordeaux, where demonstrations were banned, the head of the local CGT branch, Brigitte Coudrac, promised not to abandon the school students: "We are parents, we were young ourselves." Where we could not do without gas in Nantes, the police used tear gas and water cannons when protesters tried to break into a closed area. In Lyon, the security forces dispersed about 150 people who tried to block the road in the center, where demonstrations were prohibited. In Nice, several hundred people were ordered to disperse in the Mesna square. By 14:00, 135 people were arrested across the country; Metal balls, slingshots, pyrotechnics and even a katana were confiscated from many. The concessions from the authorities are still symbolic. Macron received 20 representatives of school students on October 23, and the debate on the Parcoursop reform was postponed to October 26. Lyceum student leaders still called for the protests to continue, and presidential candidate Jean-Luc Melanchon promised that the protest would be repeated every week.