280,000 people took part in French protests excluding Paris, estimates suggest
We are getting more figures from France on the number of people arrested on the sidelines of today’s protests.
By 4pm, 141 people had been arrested, including 21 in Paris, and 75 people remain in custody, the latest figures from the interior ministry showed.
The authorities say just over 280,000 people attended protests outside of Paris, but the numbers are still being checked, Le Monde reported.
Key events
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Closing summary
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‘Provocations’ reported on margins of Paris demonstration
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‘If oil price comes down, Putin is going to drop out’ of war with Ukraine, Trump says
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280,000 people took part in French protests excluding Paris, estimates suggest
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Russians ‘being killed at higher rate than Ukrainian soldiers,’ Trump says
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‘He’s really let me down,’ Trump says about Putin
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Starmer, Trump give press conference at Chequers
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Zelenskyy says Ukraine ‘pushed back’ some of Russia’s advances as Putin reveals 700,000 soldiers are deployed on frontline
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Main Paris demonstration under way — in pictures
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Italy first in EU to pass comprehensive law regulating use of AI
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Starmer, Trump speaking at reception for business leaders
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Crowds gather in Paris as part of day of strikes and marches — in pictures
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Are you in France? Tells us what you think.
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Strikes and protests across France – latest updates
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Poland agrees deal to learn from Ukraine on drone warfare
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EU ‘expects to present’ new sanctions on Russia ‘soon’
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Day of strikes and protests in France – in pictures
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Spain to investigate human rights violations in Gaza as Sánchez meets with Germany’s Merz
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Slash red tape to help us grow, German industry chiefs urge commission president von der Leyen
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Trump likely to get ‘much more aggressive’ on Russia, ally claims
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Trump’s schedule for day two of state visit in Britain
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UK set to begin talks with EU about access to defence loans scheme
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Hungary hasn’t changed view on accelerating Russian oil phaseout amid concerns about energy security, minister says
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Morning opening: France grinds to halt
Closing summary
Jakub Krupa
… and on that note, it’s a wrap!
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Thousands of people have marched in demonstrations across France on a national day of strikes affecting schools, transport, pharmacies, and other industries (9:49).
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More than 140 people had been arrested as of late afternoon, with major protests reported in Marseille, Nantes, Lyon, Paris and other cities (12:00, 13:14, 14:11, 14:22, 15:33, 16:54).
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Most demonstrations were peaceful, with some reports of isolated clashes and “provocations” at some of them, with tensions also reported at the main event in Paris this afternoon (17:11).
Separately,
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US president Donald Trump said that Russian president Vladimir Putin “let him down” (16:23, 16:42) as he spoke at a press conference alongside UK’s Keir Starmer and repeated his demand for European allies to drop Russian oil supplies (16:58).
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His comments came after Putin revealed that over 700,000 Russian soldiers were involved in the war against Ukraine, while Ukraine claimed it pushed back some of Russian recent advances. (16:11).
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There was no update on the EU’s latest, 19th, package of sanctions against Russia, with the European Commission saying only that it expected to “present [them] soon” (12:22).
And that’s all from me, Jakub Krupa, for today.
If you have any tips, comments or suggestions, email me at jakub.krupa@theguardian.com.
I am also on Bluesky at @jakubkrupa.bsky.social and on X at @jakubkrupa.
‘Provocations’ reported on margins of Paris demonstration
The French police is now reporting some isolated “provocations” on the margins of the main demonstration in Paris, including attempted attacks on banks, with some clashes between protesters and police, Le Figaro and Le Parisien reported.
Meanwhile, the CGT union claimed that over million people took part in today’s protests, Le Monde said.
‘If oil price comes down, Putin is going to drop out’ of war with Ukraine, Trump says
Back to Chequers, on Russia, Trump also gives another hint at what he expects Europe to do next as he says that “if the price of oil comes down, Putin is going to drop out, he’s going to have no choice”.
He says he is willing “to do other things” to help Europeans push back against Russia, but “not when the people that I’m fighting for are buying oil from Russia”.
“You can’t [do that], that’s not playing fair with the United States, and we can’t have that,” he says.
“If the oil price comes down, very simply, Russia will settle,” he insists.
And it ends the press conference.
280,000 people took part in French protests excluding Paris, estimates suggest
We are getting more figures from France on the number of people arrested on the sidelines of today’s protests.
By 4pm, 141 people had been arrested, including 21 in Paris, and 75 people remain in custody, the latest figures from the interior ministry showed.
The authorities say just over 280,000 people attended protests outside of Paris, but the numbers are still being checked, Le Monde reported.
Jakub Krupa
My focus here is on broader European issues, but the two leaders also answered questions about their conversations on domestic migration, energy, and free speech.
If you’re interested, you can read the key lines over on the UK blog here:
Russians ‘being killed at higher rate than Ukrainian soldiers,’ Trump says
Trump gets asked a follow-up question on Putin.
He repeats that Putin “has let me down,” and he adds:
“I mean, frankly, the Russian soldiers are being killed at a higher rate than the Ukrainian soldiers.”
He then goes on about other conflicts he claims to have solved.
But eventually comes back to Ukraine and says he hopes “we’re going to have some good news for you coming up”.
“I will say this, it’s millions of people have died in that war, millions of souls, and they’re not American, the soldiers, mostly soldiers, … [that] are being killed at levels nobody’s seen since the second world war. But they’re being, they’re being killed, and I feel I have an obligation to get it settled for that reason.”
He repeatedly says that the Russian invasion of Ukraine was potentially “heading to a third world war” although “I don’t think we’re going to go there now.”
Starmer responds with a general line on the need to put more pressure on Putin, and he also notes last week’s Russian drone incursion into Polish airspace.
‘He’s really let me down,’ Trump says about Putin
In his opening comments, Trump strikes a similar line, saying he will be working on ending the Russian invasion of Ukraine, repeating his usual line that he thought it “would be easiest [to end] because of my relationship with President Putin”.
But, unusually, he goes a bit further and adds:
“But he’s let me down. He’s really let me down.”
He then says “we will see how that turns out”, and that “Russia and Ukraine will get done, but … you never know in war, you know, war is a different thing.”
“Things happen that are very opposite of what you thought, you thought you were going to have an easy time or a hard time, and it turns out to be the reverse,” he says.
In his opening comments, Starmer says the pair has “discussed today how we can build our defences, further support Ukraine, and decisively increase the pressure on Putin to get him to agree a peace deal that will last.”
Let’s see what Trump says on that point. He’s speaking now.
Starmer, Trump give press conference at Chequers
Over in Britain, Starmer and Trump are now giving a press conference at the end of the US president’s two-day state visit in the UK.
It could be a lively one.
You can watch along here:
I will bring you all major non-UK news lines here, but you can also check our UK live blog here:
Zelenskyy says Ukraine ‘pushed back’ some of Russia’s advances as Putin reveals 700,000 soldiers are deployed on frontline
We are also getting some updates from Ukraine, where the country’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, met troops in the eastern Donetsk region and announced his army had pushed back some of the advances Russia made over the summer, AFP said.
The Ukrainian leader said his troops had reclaimed 160 sq km (62 sq miles) of land near the eastern coal mining town of Dobropillia, where Russia pierced Ukraine’s defences in August.
Meanwhile, the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, said on Thursday that more than 700,000 Russian soldiers are now deployed on the Ukrainian frontline.
Putin made the comment during a televised meeting with top Russian lawmakers, Reuters said.
Main Paris demonstration under way — in pictures
Meanwhile, the main Paris demonstrations is now under way and we’re getting first pictures of what’s happening on the streets of the French capital.
Italy first in EU to pass comprehensive law regulating use of AI
Angela Giuffrida
in Rome
Elsewhere, Italy has become the first country in the EU to approve a comprehensive law regulating the use of artificial intelligence, including imposing prison terms on those who use the technology to cause harm, such as generating deepfakes, and limiting child access.
Giorgia Meloni’s rightwing government said the legislation, which aligns with the EU’s landmark AI Act, is a decisive move in influencing how AI is used across Italy.
The aim is to promote “human-centric, transparent and safe AI use” while emphasising “innovation, cybersecurity and privacy protections”.
The bill introduces prison sentences of between one and five years for the illegal spreading of AI-generated or manipulated content if it causes harm.
There will also be harsher penalties for using the technology to commit crimes, including fraud and identity theft, and stricter transparency and human oversight rules governing how the technology is used in workplaces as well as in a range of sectors such as healthcare, education, justice and sport.
In addition, children under the age of 14 will need parental consent to access AI.
When it comes to copyright, the law stipulates that works created with AI assistance are protected if they originate from genuine intellectual effort, while AI-driven text and data mining will only be permitted for non-copyrighted content or scientific research by authorised institutions.
Starmer, Trump speaking at reception for business leaders
Meanwhile, Keir Starmer and Donald Trump are speaking at a reception for business leaders at Chequers.
You can follow all the key lines coming out of that meeting with Andrew Sparrow over on the UK blog here:
… or watch their speeches live here:
Some clashes were reported on the margins of protest rallies in the western city of Nantes, with police firing teargas, and in Lyon, where French media said three people were injured, Reuters said.
Crowds gather in Paris as part of day of strikes and marches — in pictures
Are you in France? Tells us what you think.
Are you in France? How do you view of Thursday’s strikes? Are you taking part?
Tell us what you think.
Strikes and protests across France – latest updates
Back in France, we’re getting more striking pictures from the day of strikes and protests across the country.
94 people had been arrested by midday, including 15 in Paris, and 32 remain in custody, according to the latest government figures reported by the French media. At least 476 separate demonstrations are under way.
About 15,000 people took part in a demonstration in Marseille, according to the local police, with significantly higher numbers reported by the organisers, Le Figaro said.
Major demonstrations walked down the streets of Nantes and Lyon, too.
In Paris, about 100 protesters managed to get to the economy ministry, “setting off a few smoke bombs” as they move towards Place de la Bastille where the main demonstration of the day takes place later today, Le Monde said.
Poland agrees deal to learn from Ukraine on drone warfare
Poland’s defence minister signed a partnership agreement with Ukraine today, saying that the country hopes to benefit from Ukraine’s knowledge and skills regarding drone warfare.
The announcement comes a week after a Russian drone incursion into Polish airspace sparked a national debate about air defence and the country’s readiness for any future attack of this sort.
“We want to benefit from your knowledge and skills, and we want Polish companies, both public and private, to be able to participate in this together,” Poland’s defence minister, Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, said during a news conference in Kyiv.
His Ukrainian counterpart, Denys Shmyhal, said that Ukrainian troops and engineers will train their Polish counterparts, Reuters reported.
“We are ready to … share our experience in any conditions…but the key thing is air defence from Russian drones, (and) missiles,” Shmyhal said.
The European Commission was also asked about the Polish-Belarusian border situation, after Poland had temporarily closed its border with Belarus in the buildup to the recent Russian-Belarusian military drills.
It has since extended the closure until further notice, risking disruption to EU-China trade by rail, estimated to be worth around €25-30bn (£22-26bn) per year.
The issue was reportedly discussed during Monday’s meeting between Poland’s foreign minister, Radosław Sikorski, and his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi.
The EU’s deputy chief spokesperson, Olof Gill, said:
“The important thing to keep in mind here is that any trade-related challenges that arise from such a security situation are happening because of Russia’s brutal, illegal and unjustifiable war, and its comrades in arms in Belarus.
So the solution to this would be for them to end their war. And we repeat from this podium as we have done many many many many times and continue to do. Please end your war.”
