🇫🇷Week of November 2

A nationwide day of strike action on 5 November brought 193 processions across France, called by an inter-union grouping joined by lycéen and student movements, yellow-vest protesters and farmers. The day centred on purchasing power, with social anger and political revolt running together in the marches.1

Attributed claim: The CGT put the national turnout at 1.6 million demonstrators, while the interior ministry counted 575,000. Europe 1 reported the ministry's figure as 575,000 nationwide including 65,000 in Paris, against the CGT's 1.6 million.12

Unions described the mobilisation in the processions as already a success. After the turnout, new calls for mobilisation were issued.3

A national day of strike action on 5 November brought dense crowds to the Place de la République in Paris, and the Paris procession set off from the square in calm after a minute of silence for the victims of the racist attack in Trappes. Unions described the mobilisation in the processions as already a success.123

Raphaël Glucksmann left the demonstration after being blocked by activists at the Place de la République.143

An A320 airliner flying from Dublin to Rome was diverted to the Evreux air base after a bomb threat, Matignon announced. The aircraft landed safely at Evreux, Le Monde reported. The flight was Aer Lingus EI402, according to Le Figaro.123

The diversion came during a wave of bomb threats against commercial flights in Europe. On Tuesday about ten commercial flights in Europe were targeted by bomb threats that turned out to be false, according to authorities in the countries concerned. Similar incidents have followed one another across Europe.12

Heavy rain across south-eastern France brought flooding to Corsica and the Hérault, with orange rain-flood warnings in force and roads blocked. In Porto-Vecchio, 120 people were evacuated and further rain was expected during the day. The Hérault prefecture activated its crisis cell in response to the flooding.123

At Ghisonaccia, two people trapped by a swollen river were rescued by the Dragon 2B helicopter and firefighters. Forecasters put rainfall in the south-east at 150 to 200 mm. Orange alerts were extended to four further departments, with the Hérault and Gard placed on alert.1456

Strong storms also hit Montpellier as the Mediterranean episode moved across the region. Forecasters and outlets were weighing whether the worst of the storm had passed and what was expected in the following hours.78

Crédit Mutuel Arkéa has announced that it was the victim of a cyberattack that allowed "fraudulent operations," according to the bank's own statement carried in coverage of the incident. The breach affected the Brittany-based bank and, per franceinfo's account, involved a hack of more than 100 million euros with no impact on customers.1234

BFM reported that the attack lasted several days and that 133 million dollars were stolen, with the bank said to have been slow to raise the alarm, allowing the hackers to launder 30 million. Frandroid framed the same episode around Fortuneo, the group's online bank, asking what customers need to know about a fraud of more than 100 million euros.56

Attributed claim: The bank's public statement described a cyberattack that permitted fraudulent operations, while franceinfo reported the losses exceeded 100 million euros and stressed that clients bore no consequences. The accounts differ on the scale and handling: BFM puts the theft at 133 million dollars and says a delayed alert let 30 million be laundered, a figure and a delay that the bank's own statement and franceinfo's customer-focused account do not set out.153

President Donald Trump said US military aid to Israel will be "cut off at the end of the year", telling Fox News on the day of the US midterm elections. Le Monde reported that the announcement came without apparent consultation or detail, and that Trump wants to end the 3.8 billion dollars in annual support to Israel. The outlet said the decision appears influenced by a shift in American public opinion.123

The announcement landed as voters went to the polls in the midterms, with a third of the Senate and the whole House of Representatives being renewed. Ouest-France paired the aid decision with overnight US strikes in Iran in its roundup of the war in the Middle East. Trump had campaigned on curbing inflation and avoiding foreign military ventures.42

French outlets treated the timing as the story. Le HuffPost called the announcement unexpected and placed it squarely during the vote, while Courrier international headlined that Trump announced the end of military aid to Israel on election day. Les Echos and tv5monde led on the substance, reporting that Trump is ending billions in aid to Israel.2356

Deputies in the Assemblée nationale voted in favour of a new tax on digital data, set at 5.5 centimes per gigabyte downloaded, which is intended to bring in 10 billion euros. The measure was carried as part of the budget debate and drew immediate criticism from the French tech sector.123

Éric Coquerel of La France insoumise disavowed his own vote for the gigabyte tax, with the episode described as deputies having been fooled by a button. LFI later dissociated itself from the tax it had voted for.45

Xavier Niel called the Socialist deputies behind the 5.5-centime-per-gigabyte tax incompetent ignoramuses, and the project set off a storm in the French tech industry. At the Assemblée, the vote provoked an outcry, with critics saying the deputies had completely lost their minds.637

A mother of a pupil assaulted a school head and a teacher at a nursery school in Nice on Monday, according to franceinfo. The woman, 36, was known to territorial intelligence and had been monitored for Islamist radicalisation. She was also subject to an obligation to leave French territory (OQTF).12

Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez told the National Assembly on Tuesday that the woman was in an irregular situation and under house arrest, Le Monde reported. Answering questions to the government in the chamber, he called the assault "unbearable, intolerable in a school of the Republic."3

Le Figaro reported that the suspect was flagged for Islamist radicalisation and that investigators were searching for a weapon. The reports did not state what weapon was involved or whether one had been found.2

Coverage from Corse Matin, Yahoo Actualités, ladepeche.fr and Gentside repeated the same core account: the woman was under an OQTF and had been followed for radicalisation. None of the cited outlets reported a different account of the assault or of her administrative status.4567

Alstom has issued a new profit warning after falling behind on train deliveries in Germany. Production difficulties with the Coradia Max trains have called into question the rail manufacturer's financial forecasts for the April to September 2026 period. The group revised its objectives downward as the Coradia programme weighed on results.123

The warning hit Alstom's shares hard, with the stock plunging in Paris trading. The wider Paris market stayed cautious after a decision by Fitch and ahead of major appointments later in the week.43

Alstom's sites at Belfort and Ornans have been running at a loss in recent months, according to L'Est Républicain. The two French plants are named in the outlet's account of the group's difficulties.5

Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said Saturday's demonstrations had gone "very well" but that "the day is not over", and denounced the "unprecedented violence" of "groups of vandals". The Interior Ministry published its own assessment of the 31 October mobilisation day and the Halloween evening that followed.12

In the Loiret, the demonstration passed off calmly, and the weekend also brought a shuttle service to the cemetery and the reopening of a historic merry-go-round, the local weekend roundup reported.3

Mediapart reported that marchers across France voiced anxiety about civil liberties, quoting a participant: "Even demonstrating is becoming difficult." The paper's account centred on the concerns of the cortèges rather than on the arrest figures.4