French student groups urge protests to go on after meeting Macron
Representatives of French high school student groups called for continued mobilisation after their first meeting with President Emmanuel Macron since the protests began. A new nationwide round of demonstrations against the rising cost of living is planned for Saturday, with about 70,000 security personnel to be deployed.
Representatives of French high school student groups called for "continued mobilisation" on 23 October after meeting President Emmanuel Macron at the Élysée palace in Paris. It was the first such meeting since the protests began more than a month ago. The demonstrations are directed against France's rising cost of living, and a new nationwide round is planned for Saturday.
Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said around 70,000 security personnel would be deployed across France on Saturday to maintain order.
Bans ahead of Saturday's rallies
Lyon and Marseille banned all demonstrations for Saturday. President Macron, after meeting with intelligence services, said that all demonstrations not organised by workers' unions would be banned.
At the same time, a French administrative court suspended a Paris police order that had banned a demonstration organised by university students. Hundreds of students took part in the march, which was peaceful.
Meeting with political parties
Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu met representatives of the country's political parties. Manuel Bompard, party coordinator of the left-wing France Unbowed, accused the prime minister of wasting their time, saying he had refused to address the demands of the weeks-long student protest movement.
Source: France 24, Reuters, AP and AFP.
