Who is protesting and what they want

The rallies on Saturday 24 October 2026 are expected to bring hundreds of thousands of people onto the streets across the country for a fourth consecutive weekend of demonstrations.

Those turning out include:

• high school students
• unionists
• "yellow vest" demonstrators
• others joining the cost of living protests

Their demands centre on more government funding for schools, together with measures on housing and the cost of living.

70,000 officers and tighter march restrictions

French authorities have increased policing by 20%, mobilising 70,000 police officers and soldiers for the weekend, including elite units and trainee officers.

Restrictions have also been ramped up on where protesters can march and on which groups are "authorised" to demonstrate.

Paris shops board up after weekend looting

The security build-up follows last weekend's Paris looting, when hundreds of shops were smashed and looted over two nights, with thousands more hit in cities including Marseille and Bordeaux.

In central and eastern Paris neighbourhoods, wooden boards were put up overnight to cover windows and shop-fronts, among them opticians, supermarkets and pharmacies as well as trainers and handbag stores.

An optician near Châtelet in central Paris said: "I'm afraid there isn't enough wooden board left to protect shops and the demand is making it so expensive to board up shops." She added: "We'll close up and take all our stock of glasses out of the shop."

Closures, shooting and National Rally conference

Many of Paris's metro stations, major museums and tourist sites are shut, and shops across France were urged to close for the day.

Tensions are high after a deadly shooting on Friday west of Paris, in which the gunman targeted non-white people, killing one person and injuring five others, including a child. The French president called the shooting a "racist terrorist attack".

Meanwhile, Marine Le Pen's National Rally holds its national conference in Orléans, where up to 30,000 counter-demonstrators are expected.

Protests are also being held in Italy, Spain, Austria, Portugal, Albania and Ireland.