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IrelandFrench cost-of-living protests bring students and unions onto the streets
A Paris correspondent describes a large march, education demands and strikes affecting transport, hospitals and schools.
Arab worldStory of Why this story? One of العربي - أخبار 's most watched videos since yesterday, with 160,281 views.
العربي - أخبار : The Arabic television channel Al Araby, broadcasting from London since 2015, owned by a company backed by Qatar. 12M subscribers and 9.7B views.
عشرات الآلاف يحتجون في مدن فرنسا ضد غلاء المعيشة وارتفاع الأسعار
Next story: Paris protest footage follows firefighters to a burning restaurant
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Things we can learn from the video
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- 0:00The anchor reports protests called by student unions, labor organizations and opposition groups across several French cities.
- 0:43Demonstrators seek social reforms, education support and improved purchasing power.
- 3:45Dalal Mawad estimates at least 200,000 marchers in Paris, while stressing that official attendance figures are still awaited.
- 4:05The Paris march heads from Place de la République toward Place de la Nation under heavy security.
- 5:14Mawad reports left-wing participation and strikes affecting transport, hospitals and schools.
- 6:48Some shops have closed and reinforced their storefronts against possible disorder, according to the correspondent.
Higher prices and strained purchasing power are bringing protesters into streets across France, with students joining trade unions to demand social reforms and more support for education, according to Qatar-based Al Araby TV News.
The report shows crowds in Paris and describes demonstrations in Bordeaux, Toulouse, Nantes and Marseille. The anchor says student unions, labor organizations and opposition groups called the protests, with about 70,000 police and gendarmes mobilized across the country.
Reporting by telephone from Paris, correspondent Dalal Mawad describes a march moving from Place de la République toward Place de la Nation under a heavy security presence. She estimates that at least 200,000 people are participating in the capital, but explicitly says official figures are still awaited. Her estimate is not an official attendance count.
Mawad identifies the cost of living as the demonstration's central issue. Alongside demands to improve purchasing power, students want stronger backing for education and say the commitments offered to them are insufficient, she reports.
The correspondent describes the mobilization as a general strike called by major labor unions, with disruption affecting transport, hospitals and schools. She also reports participation by left-wing parties, including La France Insoumise and Jean-Luc Mélenchon. Mélenchon launched the party in 2016 and has stood for the French presidency three times.
Along the Paris route, Mawad says, numerous shops have closed and reinforced their storefronts with wood and metal out of concern about possible rioting or damage. Those precautions reflect fears of disorder; her account does not establish that the feared damage occurred.
A French left-wing to far-left political party launched by Jean-Luc Mélenchon in 2016. It advocates an eco-socialist and democratic socialist programme.
More on Wikipedia ›A French left-wing politician and the de facto leader of La France Insoumise since its founding in 2016. He has run for president three times and announced his candidacy for the 2027 election.
More on Wikipedia ›Published on Trari
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- Channel
- العربي - أخبار
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- 12,000,000 ▲ 100,000 this week
- Channel views, last 7 days
- 81,248,084
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- 13,470,653 (on a normal day: 12,247,310)
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- November 5, 2026
- Video views so far
- 160,281 (less than a day online)
- Video views, pace per day
- 209,318
The numbers
The report drew about 160,000 views since yesterday, placing it among the Arab world's most-watched new news videos.
💡 Test your knowledge
Which Paris square is the march heading toward in this report?
Mawad describes the march traveling from Place de la République toward Place de la Nation.