New protests planned on October 31 in France

A third successive week of protests is planned in France this Saturday, as the gilets jaunes movement looks to keep up its momentum. 

Organisers have confirmed that ‘Act III’ of the renewed movement will take place this Saturday (October 31). Many organisers have also called on members of the public to support the growing November 5 ‘general mobilisation’.

This weekend’s protest, which coincides with Halloween, will include new methods such as casserolades, a traditional form of protest in France that involves banging pots and pans outside certain major buildings, and sit-ins in front of town halls.

This includes a casserolade outside the National Assembly in Paris at 18:00, and a national call for everyone to leave their homes and bang pots and pans at 19:00 on Friday (October 30), the eve of the new round of demonstrations.

A national sit-in at 14:00 outside the National Assembly on Saturday has also been announced, and plans for sit-ins to take place at the start or end of marches in many other communes are expected. In places with no demonstration, organisers are urging sporadic sit-ins outside mairies.

The first round of the protests on October 17 was marred by extreme violence and looting at the fringes. This was criticised by unions and political groups, but certain gilets jaunes organisers gave the violence partial support, saying the anger was justified. 

October 24 saw a limit on where protests could take place and by whom – only on official routes organised by union groups – to limit disruption. 

It saw a more peaceful weekend, with between 410,000 (interior ministry estimate) and 800,000 (union estimate) taking to the streets. 

What will October 31 look like? 

It remains unclear exactly what this weekend’s protests will look like, but they are expected to see similar levels of support as October 24. 

Trade unions and unions representing lycée (age 15 - 17/18) pupils have also backed the action on October 31, meaning hundreds of thousands will take to the streets. 

The protests on October 24 were restricted to certain areas and union-organised routes, in an attempt to limit disruption and looting. 

This reduced the number of lootings, burnings, and violence against police compared to October 17. 

It is unclear if such restrictions will be imposed again for this weekend, although it is possible this will be the case. Some cities, including Marseille, have already confirmed restrictions on routes. 

Earlier this week, French President Emmanuel Macron said that the October 31 protests would be “another day of risks”, and said that authorities would route marches away from city centres.

French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said the government was bracing for further unrest, telling broadcaster BFM: "Halloween evening is traditionally always a bit lively. We expect it to be complicated again."

Official directives on marches, including potential bans for unofficial gatherings and rerouting of marches, will be available later this week. 

Otherwise, there are several unofficial resources, including participatory maps, showing plans for this week’s actions, provided the interior ministry does not ban unofficial gatherings. 

The most popular is found here, and shows all kinds of events being planned including road and roundabout blockades alongside pot-and-pan protests and official marches. 

As of Tuesday morning, the website lists 428 events across Saturday, but this is expected to grow before the weekend.

Anyone can use the map to announce an event in their area, so it is never certain that these events are taking place (or vice versa, that an event near you will be on the map). 

More information on using the map is available in our article here. Note that as many of these are not official, union-organised events, they would be illegal if bans are implemented before the weekend.