France faces nationwide strike as unions rally hundreds of thousands

Hundreds of thousands of workers across France have gone on strike following trade-union calls, demanding higher wages and improved conditions.

• A coalition of five unions called a national day of strikes on Thursday, with authorities expecting 500,000–700,000 demonstrators across 260 cities.
• Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez announced the deployment of 70,000 police and gendarmes, vowing an "extremely firm response" to any violence.
• Unions are demanding a rise in the minimum wage, €12.31 an hour and unchanged since 2012, plus tax reforms and better school conditions.
• Riot police fired tear gas at a demonstration in Lyon on Thursday morning.
• France's Education Ministry reported about 80 secondary schools closed or disrupted, with unions estimating nearly 1,000 of 3,700 affected.
• About 51 of 184 universities were impacted amid roughly 250 protest actions nationwide.
• The movement stemmed from late-September student initiatives demanding €10 billion more for education, and barricades appeared on Paris's Rue de Rivoli.