France
Thousands take to the streets of Paris to protest soaring prices
Thousands marched through Paris on Sunday (16 October) in protest of the rising prices. After weeks of strikes at oil refineries for higher wages, there was a call for a general strike.
Jean-Luc Melenchon (leader of La France Insoumise, a hard-left party), marched with Annie Ernaux, this year's Nobel Prize Winner for Literature. He declared a general strike for today (18 October).
He told the crowd: "You're going live a week unlike any other, because we started it with the march."
Melenchon followed in the footsteps of four unions – but not France’s largest, the moderate CFDT – which called for strikes and protests Tuesday for wage rises.
After the government ordered the requisitioning some oil refinery workers, the unions called the protests to protect the right of strike. Unions considered this a violation their constitutional rights.
The NUPES parliamentary alliance called for the march. It hopes to change the narrative on domestic violence allegations that have been a problem for senior members.
Gabriel Attal, Budget Minister, stated that the left-wing coalition was trying to exploit the current situation. This is evident in ongoing strikes at French utility EDF and at French oil refining stations.
He said: "Today's march is a march by supporters who want to stop the country," on France's radio station Europe 1.
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