STORY: Prominent left-wing politicians were among the demonstrators in Paris on Saturday (October 31) as protesters marched calling for measures to address problems in high schools and the cost of living for a third weekend.

Jean-Luc Melenchon, the leader of the hard-left France Unbowed (LFI) and a candidate for next year's presidential election, attended with a number of other politicians from the party.

"High school and university students, especially those from working-class neighbourhoods, have the right to demand true equality", said Bally Bagayoko, the mayor of Saint-Denis in Paris' northern suburbs. "I believe that the demands being made are the same as those we are championing, the same demands that France Unbowed is pushing for.”

The protests gathered pace in late September as Macron's minority government launched 2027 budget talks. Facing public debt approaching 120% of economic output and rising borrowing costs, the government is under pressure to rein in spending, narrowing its room for maneuver.

Students angry at the dilapidated state of many schools, crowded classes and a university admissions system widely seen as unfair, have been joined by trade unions and a re-emergent "Yellow Vest" movement demanding action on the cost of living.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

SHOWS: PARIS, FRANCE (OCTOBER 31, 2026) (REUTERS - Access all)

1. VARIOUS OF PROTESTERS MARCHING AND CHANTING

2. PROTESTER IN ALIEN COSTUME AMONG OTHERS

3. VARIOUS OF PROTESTERS MARCHING

4. VARIOUS OF LEADER OF HARD-LEFT PARTY FRANCE UNBOWED, JEAN-LUC MELENCHON, WITH MEMBER OF EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, ALSO FROM FRANCE UNBOWED, RIMA HASSAN AT MARCH

5. PROTESTERS GATHERED IN STREET

6. VARIOUS OF MELENCHON AND HASSAN AT MARCH

7. (SOUNDBITE) (French) SAINT-DENIS MAYOR, BALLY BAGAYOKO, FROM FRANCE UNBOWED PARTY, SAYING:

“The demands are valid. I come here first and foremost as an activist, as a father, but also as a political activist, because I believe that the demands being made are the same as those we are championing, the same demands that France Unbowed is pushing for.”

8. PROTESTERS MARCHING, RIOT POLICE AHEAD OF THEM

9. VARIOUS OF PROTESTERS MARCHING WITH FLAGS OF UNIONS

10. PROTESTERS MARCHING WITH SIGN FEATURING CARICATURE OF FRENCH PRESIDENT, EMMANUEL MACRON

11. (SOUNDBITE) (French) SAINT-DENIS MAYOR BALLY BAGAYOKO, FROM FRANCE UNBOWED PARTY, SAYING:

“High school and university students, especially those from working-class neighbourhoods, have the right to demand true equality. I also wish to express my full support for all trade union organisations and for everyone who is mobilising against the high cost of living. This is about political choices that have been made. These political choices must, of course, be challenged, first and foremost in the streets, and, I hope, at the ballot box as well.”

12. PROTESTERS TAKING PHOTO WITH ANOTHER PROTESTER IN PINK SHARK COSTUME

13. VARIOUS OF PROTESTERS MARCHING WITH SIGNS AND BANNERS

14. VIEW OF PROTESTERS MARCHING FROM PORTE DE BAGNOLET