France faces new student and Yellow Vest protests over living costs

French student groups and labor unions plan to gather for an authorized march in central Paris on Saturday to protest high living costs and support young people. DW and France 24 both report that the country is preparing for another day of nationwide demonstrations, marking its fourth consecutive weekend of mass protests. Separately, the Yellow Vests movement has urged mass disobedience and plans to hold a rally in central Paris despite a ban issued by authorities, according to reports by DW, France 24, Dawn, The Straits Times, the Bangkok Post, and The Manila Times. [1][2][3][4][6][7]

The student demonstrations take place as young people push back against high living expenses and the condition of French schools, DW reports. France 24 reports that these upcoming rallies follow weeks of youth-led unrest and nationwide strikes, which brought hundreds of thousands of workers into the streets over living costs. Demonstrations and protests against poor economic and school conditions led by workers and lycée students have taken place in France since September 2026. [1][2][11]

The Yellow Vests, a grassroots movement that began protesting in November 2018 against a proposed fuel tax hike, are returning to the streets despite official restrictions. Earlier protests by students and unions had already raised security concerns across the country. As FTMQ News reported earlier, French authorities deployed 70,000 security forces during Halloween weekend to manage Yellow Vest demonstrations. [1][10][14]