Riot police clashed with protesters in Lyon on Thursday as a nationwide public sector strike tapped into growing anger over deteriorating services and the rising cost of living.
asserted
strike → clash → living
Paris’ iconic Eiffel Tower was closed because of the strike.
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Tower → close → strike
Officers clad in black helmets and protective clothing charged at crowds in Lyon after the demonstrations against rising living costs and in support of the high school protest movement turned violent and fires were set in the streets.
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fires → clothe → streets
Water cannons were also deployed.
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cannons → deploy → ?
Some of the protesters wore gas masks and safety glasses as a precaution against tear gas.
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Some → wear → gas
Images from Paris showed students and other protesters facing off against riot police.
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students → show → police
Police were “keeping the situation under control, but it remains tense,” the French Interior Ministry said in a statement at 1 p.m. local time (7 a.m. ET).
“Several violent acts have been committed as part of the high school student movement,” the statement said.
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statement → keep → movement
After fireworks were fired at a school near the southern city of Toulouse, a fire broke out “that burned the student services office,” it added.
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it → fire → office
In the city of Rennes in northwest France, metal pétanque balls were thrown at officers, the statement said, adding that police had been pelted with other projectiles in the cities of Pau and Orleans.
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police → throw → Pau
Around 250 rallies against rising living costs had been planned in cities and towns across the country and hundreds of thousands of people would likely turn out, unions said before the events kicked off.
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events → rise → people
France’s main unions, including the CGT and CNT representing public and private sector workers, and the UNEF, representing students, warned the government of President Emmanuel Macron’s that the country was on the brink or recession.
“Everything is going up except wages and pensions,” they said in a joint statement.
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they → include → statement
The pressing social and environmental challenges must be addressed without delay,” the statement added.
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statement → press → delay
The movement grew from a student protest over staff shortages at the Antoine de Saint-Exupéry High School in Créteil, a southeastern suburb of Paris.
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movement → grow → Paris
Videos of the blockade spread on social media, and soon protests expanded to high schools across the nation.
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protests → spread → nation
As the movement grew, the list of grievances expanded beyond the failings of the public school system to encompass broader economic, political and social dissatisfaction.
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list → grow → dissatisfaction
Soon, university students, teachers, parents and politicians also joined.
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students → join → ?
Hundreds of thousands of protesters have since taken to the streets as the demonstrations expanded, with participants holding signs criticizing the far-right National Rally party and warning of the risks of climate change and artificial intelligence.
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demonstrations → take → change
A multitude of Palestinian flags have also been seen.
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multitude → see → flags
Macron, who will leave office in May, convened a defense and security meeting Wednesday ahead of the protests.
uncertain
who → leave → protests
Later, Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said that 70,000 police officers would be deployed Thursday, backed by armored vehicles, drones and helicopters.
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officers → say → vehicles
Police have previously been criticized for injuring protesters with heavy-handed tactics.
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Police → criticize → tactics
Last month, a 15-year-old was maimed by a sting ball grenade fired by police and a 14-year-old suffered a jaw fracture in a similar incident.
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old → maim → incident
Several other have also suffered life-changing injuries and a 59-year-old man, identified as Christophe M, died Oct. 17 of “a critical cardio-respiratory failing” after leaving Paris’ Place de la République which had been tear-gassed be police.
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which → suffer → police
Zacharie Petit reported from Paris and Henry Austin from London.
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Petit → report → London
The Aporia
