Overview

• The Interior Ministry forecasts that participation in the October 2 demonstrations will not exceed 400,000 people, down from about 500,000 counted on September 18.
• Authorities plan security for roughly 250 marches nationwide, with 76,000 police and gendarmes deployed and about 5,000 assigned to Paris.
• Officials anticipate generally lower tension than in September but flag potential flashpoints in cities such as Nantes, Rennes, Toulouse, Lyon and Dijon.
• Transport, energy and education workers are set to join the actions, and officials expect milder disruptions to public transit compared with the previous nationwide protest.
• Union leaders maintain an ultimatum demanding the government drop the 2026 budget package, which includes a one‑year freeze on pensions and social benefits, 3,000 civil‑service cuts, unemployment benefit reform and raising the retirement age to 64.