France is preparing for mass demonstrations.. Macron calls for calm and “respect for property”

Listen to the article. The audio text is automated, generated by an automated system

French President Emmanuel Macron called for calm before the protests that the country is awaiting, today, Saturday, denouncing the high cost of living, while the authorities fear acts of violence that would exacerbate tensions after weeks of student protests.

A few months away from the presidential elections in April and May, local authorities banned the organization of demonstrations in the heart of the capital.

The "yellow vest" movement, which led widespread protests eight years ago against Macron and his government, called for demonstrations on Saturday, bringing together "yellows and youth", appealing to teachers, workers, retirees, farmers and students to participate.

There is a clear fear that the merger of the two protest movements will increase pressure on Macron's government before the elections.

According to France 2, Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez expected “broad participation,” while a police source told Agence France-Presse that expectations indicate the possibility of about 200,000 people participating, 40,000 of whom will be in Paris.

From Brussels, where he participated over two days in a European Union meeting, Macron called for “calm and respect,” considering that the right to demonstrate must be accompanied by “respect for persons and property.”

Macron recently considered that the “legitimate” demands of students were being “exploited for political purposes,” according to a government spokeswoman.

The leader of the radical leftist "Proud France" party, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, announced his support for the student movement, and participated in one of the demonstrations in Paris.

On the other hand, the far-right National Rally party led by Marine Le Pen, the most likely to win the elections, expressed its support for the police, holding the students responsible for the violence.

On Friday, French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu ordered the establishment of a crisis cell to follow up on the protests.

Lecorno is seeking to pass an austerity budget in Parliament, while protesters are demanding more protection from inflation and increased spending on public services, especially education. There is a state of public anger over what is seen as brutality with which the police dealt with the student protests, during which a number of teenage demonstrators were injured, and thousands were arrested.

Organizers of Saturday's protests created a website displaying more than 600 demonstrations scheduled across France.

While the authorities were preparing for the possibility of violence, the Paris police banned a major march that was scheduled in the tourist and commercial heart of the capital, indicating that it would only be possible to organize it in the east of the city.

Security forces will be able to use stun grenades in the event of “extremely serious acts of violence in cities,” noting that their use had previously been suspended after one of them caused the amputation of a 15-year-old boy’s hand.

An official in the Ministry of the Interior told Agence France-Presse, who preferred to remain anonymous, that "unrest is expected, especially in the demonstrations in Paris and other major cities," pointing to the risk of violence originating from the "radical left movement."

For their part, the demonstrators created a smartphone application that provides immediate information about the locations of police, tear gas, and helicopters.