French student's bleak warning as protesters march through Paris: 'We don't have a future'

Holding a French flag, Matteo tells how young people in his country do not have a future. The student’s bleak verdict came as he was among thousands of demonstrators who marched through Paris. After the country was rocked by its worst civil unrest in years, crowds took to the street on Saturday amid cost-of-living and school funding concerns. What started as a protest over staff shortages at a high school has sparked a national movement. The Mirror joined a throng of protesters marching through the capital, with the crowd stretching as far as the eye could see. To see more of the stories you value from The Mirror and to find them easily in Google then make us your preferred source. Free and easy-to-do, just click on the link here to find more from The Mirror at the top of your feed. “What we saw in the past two or three weeks is [Emmanuel] Macron, our President, is not understanding what we are protesting for,” Matteo said. “We can show all of the world through a strong movement that we are all together.” France is not alone in its societal problems; many in Britain would no doubt share discontent over the cost of living. Indeed, Matteo points to other nations too. The political science student, in his 20s, explained: “I think we don’t have future and that’s clearly difficult.” He added: “We don’t have future because of AI, we don’t have future because of ecology, we don’t have futures because our government doesn’t want to just let us have some good condition in our university.” On the lack of a future for French young people, he said: “That’s why there are a lot of people on the street. They are protesting.” Authorities confined the Paris march to the capital’s southeastern edge, away from the centre. Thousands of protesters marched from Porte d'Italie on Saturday afternoon. Trade unions led the procession, followed by protesters carrying flags and placards. Agathe, 33, held a handmade sign saying “you’ve been served revolution”. The tech start-up worker told the Mirror: “We are protesting against government politics from years because it’s unfair. We are not listened [to]. And we when we try to manifest they try to forbid us to do it. So it’s a fundamental right and we are here for this to claim we have the right to not agree.” She explained: “When you don’t listen [to] the people’s voice for years, you cannot ask people not to manifest and not to protest.” Agathe added: “I’m here for democracy, for liberty, I’m here for equality for everyone, for the less privileged and for equity.” The Paris march began peacefully but near its endpoint at Porte de Vincennes, some protesters threw projectiles while police fired volleys of tear gas and used water cannons to disperse people. The Interior Ministry put nationwide turnout at 410,000, while the CGT union estimated nearly 800,000. The ministry's estimate included 110,000 in Paris. Earlier, we spoke to protesters gathered at Place d’Italie in Paris on Saturday afternoon. Art student Mel, 19, carried a banner reading “you are more shocked by ink on the wall than blood on the floor”. It is a reference to how she feels the protesting has been conveyed. She told the Mirror: “I’m here because the state of France lately is so bad.” In reference to the government, police and far right, she explained: “I’m here today but I’m scared because they’re getting more violent every day.” The teenager added: “It’s really terrifying to see my country like that. I’m proud to be French and the far right is trying to make it seem like people who are manifesting are not… But we don’t hate France, we do this because we love our country, we are proud of who we are. “And, today, that’s why we’re here because I’m proud of who I am and I don’t want to leave my country in a way that I’ll be ashamed in the future.” She said the cost of living was “getting bad”, explaining: “Personally, I’m part of the lucky ones because I live with my family but I know friends who struggle every month to pay rent.” Her friend, engineering student Leo, 18, said: “I think it’s really important to show that we are still going to protest, we are still going to go on the streets.” The teenager added: “I think it’s important that we can protest. It’s one of our rights.” Meanwhile, Soline Malacarne said: “Students are mobilised for bad studying conditions.” The 23-year-old student, who also referenced the high cost of living, said direct democracy was “the best way to get heard”. She added: “I hope they will listen to the people.” Elsewhere, police used tear gas in Lyon, where the rally had been banned, on Saturday morning. And in Clermont-Ferrand, officers reportedly used tear gas and stun grenades to push back demonstrators trying to reach the city centre. Authorities sought to prevent another weekend of looting, burned cars and attacks on public buildings. Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said up to 70,000 officers would be deployed nationwide, backed by helicopters, armoured vehicles and water cannons. Thousands also marched on Saturday in Orleans, south of Paris, in a separate peaceful protest against the far right as Marine Le Pen's National Rally held a two-day congress in the city. Students demanding better schools and workers seeking higher wages and pensions have brought anger over living standards into the final months of President Macron 's presidency. Energy prices in France were 21.3% higher in September than a year earlier, helping drive overall inflation to 3.1%, according to the national statistics agency, INSEE. Mr Macron met high school representatives Friday. They said he had promised to overhaul university admissions, but called for protests to continue until concrete measures are announced. Over half a million people took to the streets last Saturday. Some 3,000 shops across France were damaged or looted over the weekend. Gendarmes stood guard beneath the Arc de Triomphe as shops boarded up across Paris. Major museums, including the Louvre, Orsay Museum, Picasso Museum and Grand Palais were closed. Police changed the Paris route, replacing the planned Bastille-to-Nation march with a route between Porte d'Italie and Porte de Vincennes. At Bastille, the original starting point, police used a megaphone to tell people to leave or face a 135-euro fine. We spoke to two protesters at Place de la Bastille who ended up being fined. Earlier, they had explained why they were there. Rachel Basque normally sells fruit and veg but on Saturday she turned up for democracy. The 30-year-old, who was due at work later that day, said: “It’s our right and we shouldn’t have to be afraid to protest.” She added: “We are just fed up… we have to be here to support the kids and support ourselves.” Her colleague Lucile Toulgoat, 25, added: “I’m tired of this police. I’m tired of the army coming.” Lucile said she felt “terrible” about the cost of living. For Matteo, the voice of young people is powerful. He said: “Gen Z is really strong at the moment to show the protest and to show that they want a better future.” But whether they get it, sadly, remains to be seen.