Public fury has been surging in France as tens of thousands march against spending cuts and for tax fairness, with frustrations fueled by political chaos and budget talks.
The demonstrators demanded more financial support from the government in education funding, student living conditions and social security services.
In July, then French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou introduced a spending cut plan, including the scrapping of two public holidays and cutting of health insurance spending. The proposal met fierce resistance in parliament and among the public.
"I have absolutely no confidence in what he might propose for the future. We already have a date set for next week, October 9, for a large national rally at the Ministry of Health, precisely to fight against austerity measures," said Sophie, nurse and the secretary of the General Confederation of Labour (France).
According to sources close to the prime minister, nothing regarding the budget has been decided yet -- but there will have to be major cuts to deal with the country's ballooning inflation.
"I think it's too short to say 'tax the rich', it is 'tax the rich as you tax the other part of the population -- not more, not less.' Just the equality for the taxes, it is in the French constitution, but it's not the case," said Renard, a rail ticket inspector in France.
Thousands of police officers were deployed across the country for Thursday's protest, with many of those in Paris.
According to figures from France's Interior Ministry, about 195,000 people joined the demonstrations nationwide, including around 24,000 in Paris alone.
Protesters in France denounce spending cuts, call for equality on taxes
Protesters in France denounce spending cuts, call for equality on taxes
A Japanese lawmaker has raised concerns over Japan's push to expand its military and its nuclear policy.
Responding to some politicians' dangerous tendency towards possessing nuclear weapons, Takara Sachika, a member of Japan's House of Councilors, said that Japan's push to strengthen its military, combined with what she called a misguided nuclear policy, not only heightens regional tensions but also directly threatens regional security.
"I think this is completely unacceptable. Japan is a country that has suffered atomic bombings and is one of the nations most aware of the threat posed by nuclear weapons. Yet such a country is openly discussing the issue of possessing nuclear weapons and even attempting to revise the principle of not allowing the introduction of nuclear weapons, one of the Three Non-Nuclear Principles. This is an extremely serious problem," Takara said.
Takara said the Japanese government's tendency to expand its military capabilities is completely contrary to the Constitution.
"From the perspective of Japan's Constitution, Japan should never have adopted a policy of ensuring security by strengthening military capabilities. Yet today, enormous effort is being poured into military expansion, and that in itself is a serious problem," said the lawmaker.
At a Diet meeting in early November 2025, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said that what she described as the Chinese central authorities' "use of force on Taiwan" could constitute a "survival-threatening situation" for Japan, and suggested the possibility of armed intervention in the Taiwan Strait, drawing strong criticism worldwide.
Takara urged Takaichi to retract her erroneous remarks as soon as possible.
"I think there is a very big problem with making such remarks that provoke other countries. It is necessary to thoroughly examine the facts as soon as possible and withdraw the relevant remarks," she said.
Japanese lawmaker criticizes nuclear weapons remarks as threat to regional security
