At least 10,000 protesters marched through the streets of Paris Saturday to rally against the government's crackdown on immigrants and the recent expulsion of hundreds of Roma. Police are bracing for more protests in the coming days.
From the beaches to the streets, the French have ended one annual ritual – their month long holiday in August - just in time to begin another: striking.
The storm engulfing a key ally of French President Nicolas Sarkozy has revived widespread cynicism in a country accustomed to politico-financial scandals, and undermined Sarkozy’s efforts to give his administration a cleaner image.
French Socialist leader Martine Aubry, a vocal critic of the government’s policy of closing traveller camps and "repatriating" their non-French inhabitants, faces accusations of hypocrisy after ordering camps closed in Lille, where she is mayor.