Hundreds of thousands of people took part in strikes and demonstrations across France on Thursday 5 November as trade unions, students and pensioners pressed demands over pay, living costs and public services. The Interior Ministry put participation at around 600,000 in a provisional count, while the CGT union claimed 1,573,000. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu has responded by calling unions and employers to talks on Monday 9 November.
The turnout was larger than on recent national protest days by the government’s own preliminary figures. Most marches passed peacefully, although clashes and arrests were reported in a number of cities. Reuters and Associated Press reported on the national demonstrations.
600,000 or 1.57 million: what do the figures mean?
The Interior Ministry’s figure of nearly 600,000, released at about 5pm French time, was explicitly provisional, as Le Monde reported. No later, independently established final national total had been verified when this report was prepared.
The CGT’s statement issued on 5 November put the count at 1,573,000 demonstrators in 207 towns and cities by 5.30pm. It claimed 350,000 in Paris, 150,000 in Marseille, 120,000 in Bordeaux, 100,000 in Lille, 80,000 in Toulouse and 55,000 in Lyon. These are union counts, not independently verified attendance figures.
The estimates differ by approximately 973,000 people, with the union figure about 2.6 times the preliminary government total. This is not evidence that either side has established the definitive turnout. Differences can arise from how and where people are counted, whether multiple routes and gatherings are combined, the timing of the totals and the methods used by officials and organisers. Without independently audited, comparable counts, the discrepancy cannot be resolved.
Regional figures illustrate the gap: for Lyon, Anadolu’s report of prefectural figures gave 30,500 by the authorities against 55,000 claimed by the CGT; in Bordeaux, it reported a prefectural 21,000 against the CGT’s 120,000. These are separately attributed local estimates, not figures to add on top of the national totals.
More than 200 demonstrations across France
The Interior Ministry said in advance it expected more than 220 public demonstrations or actions, while the CGT said more than 250 rallies had been programmed. The union’s later count covered 207 locations at 5.30pm. Those figures refer to different stages and definitions and should not be treated as a single final number of completed marches.
Major gatherings took place in Paris, Marseille, Bordeaux, Lille, Toulouse, Lyon, Nantes, Rennes, Strasbourg and other cities. In Paris, demonstrators gathered at Place de la République and proceeded towards Place de la Nation. Le Monde’s reporters described a dense march that was slowed and interrupted when police intervened against a masked group on Boulevard Voltaire.
The union and official attendance figures also suggest that today’s action exceeded the 31 October event. The ministry had put turnout on 31 October at 320,000. Our earlier F4N report on 31 October covers that separate day and its associated incidents.
Arrests, clashes and reported injuries
Associated Press reported that the Interior Ministry recorded at least 448 arrests on Thursday. That was the figure available in the agency’s account, not a verified end-of-day total or a count of convictions. Arrest does not establish that a person committed an offence.
In Paris, Reuters reported police using tear gas after some people at the front of the march clashed with officers. Paris police attributed vandalism to hooded individuals. In Lyon, Reuters witnessed riot police using tear gas and charging a group, while the Interior Ministry said officers had faced several hundred people in a confrontation. Incidents were also reported in Rennes, Nantes, Marseille and Toulouse. These were localised episodes, not evidence that the wider crowds took part in violence.
Le Monde journalists in Paris reported seeing at least three young people with head injuries being treated by volunteer medics following police charges. In Lyon, a report citing the Rhône prefecture said 40 people were injured, including 34 security personnel, and 24 were arrested. These accounts concern different places; there is no verified consolidated national injury total to combine them into.
In a separate incident near Toulouse, the Interior Ministry said fireworks thrown at a secondary school caused a fire and forced pupils and staff to evacuate, according to Reuters. Responsibility for the incident should not be attributed to the people attending peaceful marches elsewhere.
Rail services, schools and the Eiffel Tower
The strike closed the Eiffel Tower to visitors, according to Reuters and AP. Rail disruption was uneven: Transilien’s 5 November service notice showed cuts to some commuter and RER routes, including sections operating at half service or less. Reuters reported that there was no major nationwide transport shutdown, with high-speed trains and much of the Paris metro running broadly as normal.
School closures and blockades were more widespread. AP reported that around a third of secondary schools were closed or unable to operate normally, through a mixture of pupil blockades and staff strikes. That should not be read as a claim that one-third of all teachers walked out: Reuters reported that just over 15% of teaching staff took part in the strike.
Public healthcare workers also joined the action, although a nationwide hospital shutdown was not reported. The public service ministry’s midday figures recorded strike participation of 3.93% in the hospital civil service, 9.89% in the state civil service and 4.60% in local government. These are workforce strike rates, not measures of how many hospitals or other facilities closed.
Reuters also reported a temporary reduction in French nuclear electricity production associated with the industrial action. The reporting does not establish a national electricity supply interruption.
What the unions want
The unions are seeking higher pay, minimum-wage increases, improved pensions, protection for jobs and industry, stronger public services and action on the cost of living. Students have pressed separate but overlapping demands on education funding, staff shortages and conditions in schools and universities. The inter-union strike call set out the shared demands.
CGT leader Sophie Binet told reporters, according to Reuters, that the demonstrations were larger than before and accused the government of trying to obstruct them. The CGT condemned police actions against students and said it would continue campaigning until its demands were met. Those are the union’s assertions and commitments, rather than independently verified descriptions of every police intervention.
70,000 police deployed; government calls talks
Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez announced the deployment of 70,000 police officers and gendarmes, backed by mobile units, armoured vehicles and other equipment. The ministry said the objective was to protect authorised demonstrations and prevent a repeat of serious disorder earlier in October. Some unions have criticised restrictions on march routes and police tactics.
Later on Thursday, Prime Minister Lecornu’s office confirmed a social conference at Matignon on Monday 9 November with representatives of trade unions and employers. The official statement said it would address purchasing power and salaries and that the labour minister had been asked to complete preliminary discussions by Sunday. The announcement is a commitment to talks, not an agreement on wage rises.
Among those present at the Paris demonstrations were left-wing political figures Jean-Luc Mélenchon, Marine Tondelier and Raphaël Glucksmann, according to AP. President Emmanuel Macron, who cannot stand for a third consecutive term in the 2027 presidential election, faces renewed political pressure. No verified fresh presidential statement specifically responding to Thursday’s final turnout was available for this report.
What is confirmed and what remains unclear
- Confirmed: A nationwide strike and more than 200 demonstrations took place on 5 November; the Eiffel Tower closed; some rail and education services were disrupted; the government announced talks for 9 November.
- Not final: About 600,000 is the Interior Ministry’s provisional count; 1,573,000 is the CGT’s claim for 207 locations. Neither is an independently established final figure.
- Reported by AP: At least 448 arrests nationwide. This remains subject to revision and does not establish guilt.
- Locally reported: Clashes and some injuries occurred in specific cities, while the majority of demonstrators took part peacefully.
- Unresolved: Any final revised turnout, comprehensive national injury breakdown and the outcome of Monday’s talks.
For the earlier education strand of the movement, see F4N’s 3 November report on school and university disruption. The 5 November national strike is a separate development.
Sources
- CGT: 5 November attendance statement and city estimates
- French Interior Ministry: security operation for 5 November
- French government: 9 November social conference announcement
- French public service ministry: midday strike participation
- Transilien: 5 November rail service disruption
- Reuters: nationwide demonstrations, clashes and closures, 5 November
- Associated Press: crowds, arrests and schools, 5 November
- Le Monde: live on-the-ground reporting and provisional ministry total
- Anadolu: locally attributed prefectural figures in Lyon and Bordeaux
