How long will social anger last? On Saturday, October 24, between 410,000 and 800,000 people demonstrated throughout France for the second time against the high cost of living and the government's policies, according to figures provided by the Ministry of the Interior and the CGT, respectively. In the procession, unions and yellow vests are demanding a better purchasing power. High school students, mobilized since the end of September to demand more resources in national education, have joined the mobilization.
The government is seeking ways to respond to various demands. The Minister of National Education is expected to present on Monday "a first series of decisions" to address young people's demands. Among them, the replacement of Parcoursup by 2028 is mentioned to franceinfo by sources close to the file. The Minister of Economy, Roland Lescure, mentioned discussions on franceinfo Saturday regarding an anticipated increase in the minimum wage, before the automatic adjustment scheduled for January 1.
Despite this attempt at dialogue, the end of the movement is not currently anticipated by either high school movements, union representatives, or the yellow vests movement. Continuing to demand concrete measures, they are preparing for the next phase of the movement.
The coordination of the yellow vests has called for a "clanging protest gathering" on Friday, October 30 at 6 PM in front of the National Assembly in Paris, and at 7 PM in other cities across France. "The idea is to organize symbolic gatherings with speeches, a tribute to the victims of police violence and racist hatred, after the attack in Trappes" that occurred on Friday, explains Benjamin Ball, spokesperson for the yellow vests coordination, to franceinfo. He specifies that speeches from associations defending public freedoms will take place during the gatherings.
The next day, Saturday, October 31, the yellow vests movement is calling for demonstrations in many cities on the occasion of the third day of this movement that began on October 17. Benjamin Ball, spokesperson for the yellow vests coordination, states that the declared objective of this new day of mobilization is the "convergence of struggles", notably with the youth.
"We expect it to be complicated again, that it will again be a big day of mobilization," and "we will deploy an extremely robust system," assured the Minister of the Interior, Laurent Nuñez, recalling that the gathering coincides with Halloween night, traditionally always lively. During a visit to Marseille on Monday, Emmanuel Macron stated that this day would be "a day of risks." '"We will continue to have routes for declared mobilizations (…) outside city centers so that demonstrations can take place calmly," assured the President of the Republic.
Benjamin Ball is considering a procession in the heart of Paris for October 31. "We propose a route in Paris starting from Bastille to arrive in front of the National Assembly." The activist adds that a sit-in will take place at the arrival of the procession, in front of the National Assembly, and in front of the town halls of several cities. "This will be the opportunity to prepare for the first three days of mobilization and general blockade, starting November 5," explains the spokesperson for the yellow vests, who is already mentioning an "act four" of the mobilization for Saturday, November 7.
This general strike on Thursday, November 5, was announced in early October by a coalition of trade unions including the CFDT, CGT, FO, Unsa, and FSU. The declared objective is to defend "salaries, public services, employment, and industry" and to denounce the decrease "in the resources of our public services." Sophie Binet, General Secretary of the CGT, is calling for a generalization of the strike. "The time has come to take the mobilization to the next level; the strike must take over," she stated Wednesday.
On the high school side, representative organizations are awaiting the announcement of new measures, scheduled for Monday. "We will not stop mobilizing as long as most of our demands are not translated into regulatory texts or laws," explains Pierre Sourzat, president of the organization "The High School Students!" to "C quoi l'info?" The blockades in front of schools could therefore continue after the break on Monday, November 2, if the announced measures are not deemed satisfactory.
Among firefighters, anger is also not subsiding. The professional unions, already mobilized on September 29, have also called for a national movement on December 4, with "depositing helmets in front of the prefectures." After a challenging summer marked by record fires, they are demanding an increase in the human and financial resources allocated to them.
An article written by Lucie Rivière (franceinfo), initially published on 26 October 2026, 16:02 (CET)