The start of the general strike in France last Thursday saw 250,000 demonstrate in Paris. Overall we had the Ministry of Interior give a figure of 800,000 for those taking part in demonstrations in the whole of France and a figure of 1.5 million from the unions. Mobilisations continue, and some unions have called for a remobilisation of the strike movement on December 10th. However, if the dates of December 5th and 10th are close together, they still don’t answer the call for an all out continuous strike movement.
In Amiens 8,000 demonstrated. At Draguignan, 1500; Toulon, 15,000; Le Mans 15-18,000; Lannion, 3000; Saint Brieuc 7000; Blois, 4000; Orleans, 10,000; Montpellier, 25,000; Beziers, 6000; Sète, 2000; Strasbourg, 10,000; Dijon, 9000; Rennes, 20,000. At Guéret 2500 turned out, which hadn’t been seen for a long time, and at Rodez 6000, a record for the town. At Nancy, 13,000 mobilised. At Limoges there were more than 15,000; at Vannes 5000; at Carcassone more than 4000. In Le Havre 20,000 demonstrated; at Rouen, 40,000; at Marseille 25,000 according to the police, 150,000(!) according to the unions. At Alençon, 2000 demonstrated; at Brest, between 10 and 15,000. At Clermont Ferrand, 25,000; at Poitiers, between 8 and 10,000. 20,000 demonstrated in Lille; 30,000 in Nantes. At Brive there was a very good turnout of 5000; at Angers, another good turnout of 10,000 and 1200 at Cholet and 800 at Saumur. 11-12,000 at Albi, 3-4000 at Aubenas. At Beauvais, 6200 demonstrators, a large demonstration never seen in that town before. At Nimes, more than 10,000. More than 10,000 at Cherbourg, again the biggest mobilisation ever seen there. At Toulouse, as many as 100,000 demonstrated and there were clashes with the police, leading to 27 arrests. The police attempted to block demonstrations in other towns. Presence of Yellow Vests on many demonstrations, as well as high school and university students.
On Saturday there were events in several cities against precarity although not attracting that many people. On the same day Yellow Vest mobilisations occurred in many cities and towns with blockades and demonstrations, however, with a smaller turnout than at the height of Yellow Vest actions.