Second Act of Protests: Mélenchon Urges Macron to Back Down as Demonstrators Defy the Élysée

Tens of thousands of people demonstrated across France on October 24 against the rising cost of living and insecurity, in a second round of protests involving Yellow Vests, unions, school pupils and students. Authorities deployed 70,000 police officers and gendarmes, 20% more than the previous week; the midday tally reported 35,000 demonstrators and 135 arrests, with no major incidents reported. In Paris, the police prefecture changed the march route from Bastille to Porte d’Italie, a decision demonstrators saw as provocative. Jean-Luc Mélenchon urged Emmanuel Macron to “back down” and predicted a “general strike,” while a counter-demonstration against the National Rally in Orléans drew between 11,000 and 26,000 people.