The meeting at Matignon on Wednesday, 21 October 2026, did not calm things down. It split the government and the unions further apart. At the same time, prefects across France began banning protests ahead of the Yellow Vests' "Act II" on Saturday, 24 October.
Unions leave disappointed
Union leaders who met Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu at the Matignon on Wednesday left the nearly two-and-a-half-hour meeting disappointed. CGT leader Sophie Binet said the government had "not announced any measures, nor taken our demands into account". According to Binet, the only concrete commitment came from Labour Minister Jean-Pierre Farandou, who said he would soon receive the unions to discuss purchasing power. She also said that youth organisations would be invited for talks. The high school groups that started the movement had been left out of the 21 October meeting.
Binet is now pushing for an escalation. She told workers to hold general assemblies in every workplace to "generalise the strike on 5 November and after". The next steps are another protest day on Saturday 24 October, then the strike day on Thursday 5 November.
Bans spread across the country
Local authorities on Wednesday banned protests planned in several French cities in the next few days – from Toulon in the south to Le Havre in the north – and also imposed night-time curfews in many of them. Early on 22 October, France 24 reported that the number of cities banning protests on Saturday seems to be growing by the minute. Authorities in Rouen and Le Havre are among the latest to join the list.
The bans in Paris are getting wider too:
Thursday, 22 October: protests are banned from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. near the presidential palace, the upper and lower houses of parliament, the prime minister's headquarters and tourist landmarks like the Louvre Museum and the Champs-Élysées avenue.
Students: fresh demonstrations planned by high school pupils and university students were similarly struck down in both Paris and the southeastern city of Lyon.
Curfew: for a third night in a row, from 11 p.m. on 21 October to 6 a.m. on 22 October, adults and minors were barred from entering designated areas around Place de la Republique and Les Halles.
What to expect on Saturday, 24 October
The Yellow Vests formally submitted a rally notification on 21 October to hold a demonstration at the Place de la Bastille in Paris. The Paris demonstration now has two declared routes: Bastille-Opéra for the Yellow Vests and Bastille-Nation for the CGT. The prefect can still change the routes or ban the march. Across the country, the organisers' map lists 212 planned mobilisations, including 167 demonstrations, 19 roundabout gatherings, six actions at gas stations and one at an oil depot.
The army's role is now clearer. Nuñez said the Sentinelle soldiers will be assigned guarding and security duties so that police personnel can carry out other missions. On the legal side, 800 people have been referred to prosecutors so far, and 149 remain in custody.
Macron steps in
Speaking from Qatar, Macron said: "Those who want to cause disorder in city centres next Saturday will be prevented from doing so". On 22 October, he is due to chair a meeting of ministers and intelligence officials to receive a "detailed account" of last weekend's unrest. He also hit back at foreign critics. He said some world leaders had been influenced by fake videos generated by artificial intelligence (AI) about the riots. Also on 22 October, Lecornu is due to meet the mayors of some of the cities that were worst hit by the riots over the weekend, including Paris, Marseille and Lyon. On Friday, 23 October, he will travel to Limoges, whose town hall was badly damaged by fire.
The meeting at Matignon on Wednesday, 21 October 2026, did not calm things down. It split the government and the unions further apart. At the same time, prefects across France began banning protests ahead of the Yellow Vests' "Act II" on Saturday, 24 October.
Unions leave disappointed
Union leaders who met Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu at the Matignon on Wednesday left the nearly two-and-a-half-hour meeting disappointed. CGT leader Sophie Binet said the government had "not announced any measures, nor taken our demands into account". According to Binet, the only concrete commitment came from Labour Minister Jean-Pierre Farandou, who said he would soon receive the unions to discuss purchasing power. She also said that youth organisations would be invited for talks. The high school groups that started the movement had been left out of the 21 October meeting.
Binet is now pushing for an escalation. She told workers to hold general assemblies in every workplace to "generalise the strike on 5 November and after". The next steps are another protest day on Saturday 24 October, then the strike day on Thursday 5 November.
Bans spread across the country
Local authorities on Wednesday banned protests planned in several French cities in the next few days – from Toulon in the south to Le Havre in the north – and also imposed night-time curfews in many of them. Early on 22 October, France 24 reported that the number of cities banning protests on Saturday seems to be growing by the minute. Authorities in Rouen and Le Havre are among the latest to join the list.
The bans in Paris are getting wider too:
What to expect on Saturday, 24 October
The Yellow Vests formally submitted a rally notification on 21 October to hold a demonstration at the Place de la Bastille in Paris. The Paris demonstration now has two declared routes: Bastille-Opéra for the Yellow Vests and Bastille-Nation for the CGT. The prefect can still change the routes or ban the march. Across the country, the organisers' map lists 212 planned mobilisations, including 167 demonstrations, 19 roundabout gatherings, six actions at gas stations and one at an oil depot.
The army's role is now clearer. Nuñez said the Sentinelle soldiers will be assigned guarding and security duties so that police personnel can carry out other missions. On the legal side, 800 people have been referred to prosecutors so far, and 149 remain in custody.
Macron steps in
Speaking from Qatar, Macron said: "Those who want to cause disorder in city centres next Saturday will be prevented from doing so". On 22 October, he is due to chair a meeting of ministers and intelligence officials to receive a "detailed account" of last weekend's unrest. He also hit back at foreign critics. He said some world leaders had been influenced by fake videos generated by artificial intelligence (AI) about the riots. Also on 22 October, Lecornu is due to meet the mayors of some of the cities that were worst hit by the riots over the weekend, including Paris, Marseille and Lyon. On Friday, 23 October, he will travel to Limoges, whose town hall was badly damaged by fire.
Sources