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Sophie Binet, general secretary of France's General Confederation of Labour (CGT), speaks after meeting with French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu at the Hôtel Matignon, the prime minister's official residence, in Paris on Oct. 21 (local time). / EPA-Yonhap

As student protests joined by labor unions and the Yellow Vests movement shake France nationwide, the government held talks with union leaders on Oct. 21 (local time) in an effort to defuse the unrest but failed to find a breakthrough.

According to Reuters, AFP and other news agencies, French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu met with union leaders that day to address the protests, which were sparked by opposition to soaring prices and cuts to public services. However, the talks broke down as the government failed to offer concrete solutions to key labor demands, including wage increases and maintaining public spending.

Sophie Binet, general secretary of the General Confederation of Labour (CGT), France's largest labor union organization, strongly criticized the government after the meeting, saying, "The government is not taking workers' demands into account at all."

She added, "Now is the time to take our struggle to the next level," announcing that the union would go ahead with a nationwide general strike scheduled for Nov. 5.

The National Union of Students of France (UNEF) and Yellow Vests groups, which led anti-government protests against fuel tax increases in 2018, also plan to hold further rallies in central Paris on Oct. 24 as previously announced.

French President Emmanuel Macron, who is visiting Qatar, warned of a tough crackdown, including the possible deployment of military personnel, saying, "We will thoroughly prevent those seeking to cause chaos in city centers this weekend from doing so."

"Unacceptable incidents occurred in several cities across the country on Oct. 17," Macron said, emphasizing that "there is no justification for violence in a democracy."

Macron is scheduled to chair a National Security Council meeting on Oct. 22, attended by Prime Minister Lecornu and intelligence officials, according to French public broadcaster franceinfo.

The presidential office explained, "The meeting will review shortcomings in the initial response that led to last weekend's events, while also examining the operation of intelligence-gathering, forecasting and security systems over the coming weeks."

Regarding the unrest, Marine Le Pen of the far-right camp criticized the government, saying, "The government has completely lost control."

Meanwhile, the far-left party La France Insoumise (LFI) said in a statement, "Protesters are not enemies within," adding, "The French government must not wage war against its own citizens."

                                                                                                           Lee Jeong-eun