French protesters chant against inflation and police

PARIS – Protesters waved the French flag from the top of a Paris statue on Nov 14, as demonstrators across France vented a broad range of frustrations from the rising cost of living to opposition to a new police Bill.The European Union’s second-largest economy has been gripped by high-school blockades and demonstrations demanding better wages for more than a month, before presidential elections in 2027 to replace Emmanuel Macron.Some of the largely peaceful rallies have seen fringe violence, as well as accusations of police brutality, including against young teenagers.“No justice, no peace,” a protester shouted into a megaphone on the capital’s Republique square on Nov 14 afternoon, as people took to the streets for the fifth Saturday in a row.Yellow Vest movement member Benjamin Ball was among several thousands of protesters in Paris, who also included students, unions and rights activists.“The government has only given us crumbs, and we want the whole bakery,” he said.Adrien, a 20-year-old cello player who came as part of a volunteer orchestra, said the focus of the day was a new Bill in Parliament to give police who use their weapons a presumption of legitimate self-defence.“We’re scared when we come to a protest, and this will only make us even more afraid if their impunity is strengthened,” he said, after tear gas fell on a similar group of protesting musicians in October.‘Licence to kill’Backers of the new police Bill – including the far-right party of leading presidential hopeful Marine Le Pen – say a new law is necessary to avoid law enforcement officers being automatically suspected of using disproportionate force.Activists argue it would amount to a “licence to kill”.They say it would make holding security forces accountable even harder in a country where cases of alleged police brutality rarely reach a criminal court.Kenza, 28, was among thousands marching in the southern city of Toulouse.“The repression of protesters is unacceptable – even more so when they are children,” said the asylum law specialist who did not want to give her surname.Lawyers earlier in November said police violence at recent protests led to “mutilations” including hand, foot and eye injuries.Around 146,000 people took part in demonstrations across France on Nov 7, according to the authorities, far lower numbers than on previous weekends.The largest protests in recent weeks occurred during a union-led strike on Nov 5, when more than half a million people took to the streets nationwide, according to official figures.Unions have called for a new day of strikes on Nov 17, after rejecting a government promise to increase the minimum wage by 0.6% as “crumbs”. AFP