France braces for nationwide strike and protests on October 17

France is preparing for a nationwide strike on October 17, according to local media including France Info. Over 140,000 people are expected to take to the streets at 250-300 locations across the country. Participants include former "yellow vest" activists, taxi and truck drivers, medical workers, construction workers, firefighters, pilots, flight attendants, ecologists, garbage collectors, pensioners, and civil servants. Students, teachers, and schoolchildren, who began protests in mid-September, will continue their actions. Key demands focus on rising living costs, fuel prices, social assistance, and public sector wages. The strike is backed by some unions and political forces, including "La France Insoumise" and the Communist Party, while the Socialist Party and Republicans have taken more cautious stances. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez has authorized police to use all means, including stun grenades, and the government warns of potential clashes with aggressive protest groups.