MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
Let's go to France now, where the protests that began almost two months ago with students demonstrating for better education conditions - those protests have now widened to include unions, public sector workers, all kinds of other people. Today, between 600,000 and a million people were in the streets of French cities. Those are the government and union figures. Thousands of workers also walked off their jobs in an accompanying general strike. NPR's Eleanor Beardsley was out there in the thick of it. We go to her now in Paris. Hey, Eleanor.
ELEANOR BEARDSLEY, BYLINE: Hi, Mary Louise.
KELLY: Hey. So what was it like today? - 'cause we've seen violence, you know, with the protests earlier. Was that happening today?
BEARDSLEY: Well, first of all, it was very joyous. I was out there. There were music, floats, banners, placards calling to tax the rich, chants against the far right. And today was a big day 'cause the students are back from their two-week fall break. They were joined by all those adults, public sector workers, unions. There were some 250 marches across the country, mostly peaceful. And there's a lot of security. The government does not want to see a repeat of the looting and destruction that happened on October 17.
(SOUNDBITE OF HELICOPTER FLYING OVERHEAD)
BEARDSLEY: Helicopters flew overhead in Paris today, and that's rare. Lots of stores were boarded up. You know, a lot of these protest marches, of any kind, they attract these young men who love to fight with police at the end. So the authorities have blamed far-left groups. There have also been charges of police violence. So it's been a toxic mix, but today was basically OK, except for in the southern city of Toulouse, where a school was partially destroyed.
KELLY: Well, I'm glad today was basically OK. Just go back to the basics. What are demonstrators asking for at this point?
BEARDSLEY: Yeah. Well, it started with better facilities, more teachers for the students. It's broader now. They want to freeze prices, bring down fuel costs, raise salaries, boost the minimum wage. People say they're angry about inequality. You know, France actually does a lot of wealth equalizing - much more than the U.S - but protesters say there's too many working poor. I spoke with Dominique Moisi who's head of the Montaigne Institut. It's a public policy think tank. And he says that's one of the biggest issues for protesters. Here he is.
DOMINIQUE MOISI: There is the perception, which corresponds to reality, that equality has been forgotten. You remember the three pillars of the French Republic - liberty, equality, fraternity. Well, one is clearly absent, and that's equality.
KELLY: Eleanor, what is the government's position? What has the government done?
BEARDSLEY: You know, it's trying to tamp things down. It's made concessions to the students, money to fix facilities, teachers. The prime minister's meeting with labor union leaders Monday. But the students now, and the protesters, they feel empowered. They say it's not enough. They're not going to stop till they get all their demands met.
You know, there are presidential elections next spring, Mary Louise. And President Macron is a lame duck. His government is unpopular, and the French government has huge debt, high borrowing costs - not much room for maneuver, you know? But everyone you talk to in these protests, they say - they're from the left and the far left, first of all, but they say there's money. It's just in the hands of the rich and multinational companies. And you hear about social injustice a lot. And Moisi told me that this is actually one of Macron's biggest failures. Here he is again.
MOISI: We've had for 10 years a very gifted president, extremely intelligent, and yet, he has proven incapable of selling rational measures to a majority of the French people.
BEARDSLEY: Like raising the retirement age - it's currently 62. He did raise it to 64, but the far-left and right say they'll bring it down to 62 again. Meanwhile, all of France's neighbors are at 67.
KELLY: Eleanor, just briefly, it sounds like you're describing a government facing huge financial challenges and protesters who want reforms that would cost a huge amount of money.
BEARDSLEY: That's correct. And so, you say, how can this be? But some of the protesters have a solution, like 92-year-old protester Madeleine Remon (ph). She actually had a mask and drops for her eyes if she got tear-gassed. She said the French are losing what they fought so hard for in the last century - you know, vacation, healthcare, public services, retirement - all being degraded, especially under Macron. Here she is.
MADELEINE REMON: (Speaking French).
BEARDSLEY: She says, "just put the taxes back on the huge fortunes immediately. That will give oxygen to the students and people in difficulty."
KELLY: NPR's Eleanor Beardsley in Paris. Thanks, Eleanor.
BEARDSLEY: Thank you, Mary Louise. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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