Translated automatically by AI from the Italian original.
À la guerre comme à la guerre is an old French provincial saying (“in war as in war”), generally meaning that every situation must be accepted for what it is and that one must make do with the resources at hand.
More than a million people took to the streets across France in a general strike against the rising cost of living and for higher wages. The day of action was called by public and private sector unions, with support from students, “yellow vests” and farmers. The phrase could become La Grève comme à la grève – “in strike as in strike” – but the presence of the usual troublemakers means it began as a strike and ended as a war.
The day saw around 260 marches nationwide and heavy disruption to public transport. There were the usual conflicting turnout figures: 1.6 million participants according to the CGT (350,000 in Paris) and around 600,000 according to the interior ministry, still making it the biggest mobilisation of the autumn.
About 70,000 police and gendarmes were deployed to maintain public order.
The protest also saw strong participation from the education sector, with roughly 16% of teachers on strike and hundreds of secondary schools and universities affected by blockades or disruptions.
Alongside the marches, there were serious incidents of violence and vandalism: in Tournefeuille (Toulouse), arson started with fireworks gutted part of a high school, while in Lille the burning of bins caused a gas leak and the area’s evacuation.
Clashes, firecracker attacks and tensions with police also occurred in Paris, Rennes, Lyon and Nantes, along with a stabbing among young people outside a school in La Courneuve.
