France braces for protests as Yellow Vests urge 'mass disobedience'

France faces nationwide protests Saturday as unions, student groups, and the Yellow Vests movement hold separate demonstrations, with authorities deploying 70,000 police amid a ban on a central Paris rally. The unrest follows weeks of strikes over rising living costs, occurring less than six months before a presidential election. Interior Minister Laurent Nunez warned rioters and looters would be met with force, while Yellow Vests activists urged "mass disobedience" at Place de la Concorde despite the ban. Thursday's protests drew hundreds of thousands of workers, with 642 arrests, though largely peaceful, and followed France's worst rioting in years on Oct 17. The government faces limited fiscal room to address demands for minimum wage hikes and tax reforms as it tackles debt, with unions planning talks Monday. Police tactics have drawn criticism, including 40 cases of journalist obstruction reported by Reporters Without Borders, as Macron's presidency ends in May 2027.