Tens of thousands take to the streets of Paris in protest over cost of living, climate inaction

Nearly three weeks into a strike that has forced filling stations across France to close, an estimated 140,000 demonstrators – according to the organisers – took to the streets of Paris this Sunday in protest against soaring living costs, fuel strikes and climate inaction. Police say participation was far lower. 

Protesters hold a banner reading 'our lives are more valuable than your benefits' during a rally against soaring living costs and climate inaction called by French left-wing coalition NUPES (New People's Ecologic and Social Union) in Paris on October 16, 2022. AFP - CHRISTOPHE ARCHAMBAULT

UPDATE 15h00UT

According to the organisers, some 140,000 people took part in a "march against high living costs and climate inaction" in Paris this Sunday.

The demonstration was organised by the left-wing Nupes alliance, led by the hard-left France Unbowed (LFI) party.

LFI leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon has lauded the "huge success" of the march, specifically praising the significant turnout. 

Police, however, maintain just 30,000 demonstrators took part in Sunday's protest, as they had earlier predicted.

Une autre vie est possible, débarrassée du pillage du profit. Un autre monde est possible, libéré du saccage du productivisme capitaliste.

Avec ce que nous sommes en train de faire aujourd'hui, nous dessinons un nouveau Front populaire.#Marche16Octobre #LaMarche pic.twitter.com/A0o454pAkV

— Jean-Luc Mélenchon (@JLMelenchon) October 16, 2022

'Greatest loss of purchasing power in 40 years'

Left-wing opponents of President Emmanuel Macron's administration have organised the demonstration for this Sunday, which they say is also in protest against government inaction over climate change.

Jean-Luc Mélenchon, firebrand leader of the left-wing France Unbowed (LFI) party, had planned the march well before the current strike, but organisers are hoping to pick up some of the momentum from the current industrial unrest.

According to LFI deputy Manon Aubry, "The rise in prices is unbearable. It is the greatest loss of purchasing power in 40 years."

It is time the billions that the big companies were reaping in profits were passed down to those struggling to make ends meet, she added.

Police are expecting around 30,000 people to attend the march – which will begin at Place de la Nation at 14h00 local time – with one source saying they feared problems from hard-left "troublemakers". 

Notre grande marche contre la vie chère qui se tient cet après-midi va réunir des milliers de personnes venues de toute la France.

Notre 1er objectif politique est rempli : être un point d'appui et de bascule dans la société dans le mouvement social global qui se renforce.#RMC pic.twitter.com/hVB9ddhG1H

— Manon Aubry (@ManonAubryFr) October 16, 2022

• French strike fever spreads as Macron's opponents push for confrontation
• Police order striking French petrol staff back to work

More demonstrations ahead

The dispute at French refineries and fuel depots has forced many filling stations to close and has had a knock-on effect across all sectors of France's economy.

Four of France's seven refineries and one fuel depot are still out of action after striking members of the hard-left CGT union rejected a pay offer from the hydrocarbon industry leader that other unions accepted.

They remain furious that Macron's government used requisitioning powers this week to force some strikers back to open fuel depots, a move that has so far been upheld by the courts.

But the union risks stoking resentment in a country where three-quarters of workers rely on personal vehicles for their jobs. One poll by released on Friday, suggested that public support for the strike was at just 37 percent.

The militant CGT union is pushing for a 10-percent pay rise for staff at TotalEnergies, backdated to the beginning of the year.

The union has extended its strike action until at least Tuesday, when it has also called for a broader general strike involving public transport nationwide.

Gabriel Attal : «La France est quand même le pays d’Europe où le taux d’inflation est le plus faible» dans #LeGrandRDV pic.twitter.com/WqjTX0ee0g

— CNEWS (@CNEWS) October 16, 2022

Government calls blockades 'unacceptable'

Meanwhile, Public Accounts Minister Gabriel Attal said on Sunday that the continuation of blockades at French refineries was "unacceptable" even though agreements have been reached regarding wage increases.

"It's not a question of the right to strike, but at some point the country has to be able to function," Attal said on French television.

"What is certain," Attal added laconically, "is that you have some trade unions who give the impression of they are acting in the interests of millions of French people."

His sentiments were echoed by the president of France's Medef employers federation, Geoffroy Roux de Bézieux, who said Sunday that the 150 people striking at the refineries "are holding the French hostage."