Unions and student groups are preparing mass demonstrations across France over rising living costs, economic inequality, wages and education conditions, with up to 700,000 people expected to take part.

Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to take to the streets across France on Thursday as trade unions stage nationwide strikes alongside student-led demonstrations that have gripped the country in recent weeks.

The protests, initially driven by high school students demanding improvements to deteriorating education conditions, have expanded into a broader movement reflecting growing public anger over the rising cost of living, economic inequality and stagnant wages.

The unrest culminated on October 17 in some of the worst rioting France has experienced in recent years.

Authorities estimate that between 500,000 and 700,000 people could join demonstrations nationwide, including up to 80,000 in Paris.

“We are expecting a strong mobilisation,” said Marylise Léon of the CFDT trade union, predicting participation on a scale comparable to the 2023 demonstrations against pension reforms, when more than one million people took to the streets.

Public and private education unions, along with organisations representing railway workers, hospital staff and postal employees, have called for strike action.

Their demands, directed at both the government and employers, include an increase in the minimum wage, which has not received a discretionary rise since 2012, general pay increases, tax reforms and improved conditions for students.

Interior Minister Laurent Nunez announced on Wednesday that 70,000 police officers and security personnel would be deployed nationwide. He warned that authorities would respond “extremely firmly” to any violence or public disorder.

Although most student-led demonstrations have remained peaceful, some have been marked by clashes between protesters and police, with security forces using tear gas and water cannon to disperse crowds.

An attempted murder investigation was launched after petrol bombs were thrown at security personnel in Paris on Saturday.

At the same time, the police response has come under criticism, with allegations of excessive force prompting internal investigations. Several teenage demonstrators have reportedly been seriously injured, while thousands of protesters have been arrested.

Authorities have also acknowledged security and intelligence failures that contributed to the unrest, including clashes, widespread looting and damage to public property on October 17.

Tensions escalated further on Wednesday after the Paris police prefecture banned a major demonstration route planned between Place de la Bastille and Place de la Concorde, which would have passed through the city centre. Authorities instead authorised an alternative route heading east, away from central Paris.

Several trade unions condemned the restrictions, describing them as an attempt to curb the right to demonstrate. Some organisations also filed last-minute appeals seeking to overturn the route ban.

Fabrice Fort of the CGT trade union said public support for the student movement remained strong, while restrictions on demonstrations had fuelled wider concerns about civil liberties.

He said the growing unrest had prompted people who had previously remained largely silent to become more politically and socially engaged.

The demonstrations in France are part of a wider wave of youth-led protests across Europe in recent weeks, with similar movements emerging in Denmark, Germany and Italy.

The growing mobilisation reflects mounting frustration among young people and workers over economic pressures, social inequality and the conditions facing the younger generation. (ILKHA)