{{Short description|French social movement}} {{Infobox civil conflict | title = Nuit debout | partof = | image = Nuit Debout - Paris - 41 mars 01.jpg | caption = Protestors occupy the Place de la République in Paris, 10 April 2016 | date = 31 March 2016 – June 2016 | place = France and other countries | coordinates = | causes = | goals = Among others, withdrawal of proposed labor reforms | methods = {{Flatlist| *Occupations of public squares * Public discussions }} | status = | result = | side1 = | side2 = | side3 = | leadfigures1 = | leadfigures2 = | leadfigures3 = | howmany1 = | howmany2 = | howmany3 = | casualties1 = | casualties2 = | casualties3 = | fatalities = | injuries = | arrests = | detentions = | charged = | fined = | casualties_label = | notes = | sidebox = }}
'''Nuit debout''' is a French social movement that began on 31 March 2016, arising out of protests against proposed labor reforms known as the El Khomri law or ''Loi travail''.<ref name="Pleyers 04-14"/> The movement was organized around a broad aim of "overthrowing the El Khomri bill and the world it represents".<ref name="Jacobin 05-04">{{cite news|last1=Kouvelakis|first1=Stathis|last2=Lordon|first2=Frédéric|authorlink2=Frédéric Lordon|title=Overturning a World|url=https://www.jacobinmag.com/2016/05/nuit-debout-france-el-khomri-labor-law/|accessdate=12 May 2016|work=Jacobin|date=4 May 2016}}</ref> It has been compared to the Occupy movement in the United States and to Spain's anti-austerity 15-M or ''Indignados'' movement.<ref name="NYT 04-14">{{cite news|last1=Kamdar|first1=Mira|title=In Paris, a Protest Movement Awakens|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/14/opinion/in-paris-a-protest-movement-awakens.html|accessdate=1 May 2016|work=The New York Times|date=14 April 2016}}</ref>
The movement began at the Place de la République in Paris, where protestors held nightly assemblies following the 31 March protest.<ref name="NYT 04-29">{{cite news|last1=Nossiter|first1=Adam|title=A New Generation's Anger Resounds From a Packed Plaza in Paris|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/30/world/europe/france-nuit-debout-protests-paris.html|accessdate=1 May 2016|work=The New York Times|date=29 April 2016}}</ref> The protests spread to dozens of other cities and towns in France as well as to neighbouring countries in Europe and to countries further afield.<ref name="Libe 04-30">{{cite news|title=Du 30 au 60 mars : un mois de "Nuit debout"|url=http://www.liberation.fr/france/2016/04/30/du-30-au-60-mars-un-mois-de-nuit-debout_1449387|accessdate=1 May 2016|work=Libération|language=fr}}</ref> Turnout at these protests dwindled after the first weeks; activists maintained the movement's presence on the Internet.<ref name="HuffPo 05-31">{{cite news|last1=Boudet|first1=Alexandre|last2=Clavel|first2=Geoffroy|title=Le mouvement Nuit Debout s'est-il couché?|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.fr/2016/05/31/nuit-debout-deux-mois-apres-fin-mouvement_n_10221444.html|accessdate=15 September 2016|work=Le Huffington Post|date=31 May 2016|language=fr}}</ref><ref name="Monde 07-21">{{cite news|last1=Durand|first1=Anne-Aël|title=Dix chiffres pour résumer le feuilleton de la loi travail|url=http://www.lemonde.fr/les-decodeurs/article/2016/07/21/dix-chiffres-pour-resumer-le-feuilleton-de-la-loi-travail_4972567_4355770.html|accessdate=15 September 2016|work=Le Monde|date=21 July 2016|language=fr}}</ref>
==Name== ''Nuit debout'' has been translated into English as "up all night",<ref name="newsweek">{{cite news|last1=Lowe|first1=Josh|title=What is France's 'Nuit Debout' protest movement?|url=http://europe.newsweek.com/nuit-debout-france-david-graeber-place-de-la-republique-446400|accessdate=11 April 2016|work=Newsweek|date=11 April 2016}}</ref> "standing night",<ref name="ibt"/> and "rise up at night",<ref name="Guardian 04-08">{{cite news|last1=Chrisafis|first1=Angelique|title=Nuit debout protesters occupy French cities in revolutionary call for change|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/apr/08/nuit-debout-protesters-occupy-french-cities-in-a-revolutionary-call-for-change|accessdate=9 April 2016|work=The Guardian|date=8 April 2016}}</ref> among other variants.
==Background== thumb|The government's proposed labor reforms provoked a series of large-scale street protests throughout the country. In 2011, in the wake of the Great Recession, several developed countries saw the rise of civil disobedience movements protesting against issues such as inequality and corporate greed.<ref name="Pleyers 04-08">{{cite news|last1=Pleyers|first1=Geoffrey|authorlink1=Geoffrey Pleyers|title=" Nuit Debout " : citizens are back in the squares in Paris|url=https://www.opendemocracy.net/geoffrey-pleyers/nuit-debout-citizens-are-back-in-squares-in-paris|accessdate=14 April 2016|publisher=Open Democracy|date=8 April 2016}}</ref> In Spain, the 15-M or ''Indignados'' movement saw large-scale demonstrations and occupations of public squares; the movement led eventually to the rise of the anti-austerity political party Podemos.<ref name="Pleyers 04-14"/> The United States saw the rise of Occupy Wall Street, in which protestors occupied Zuccotti Park in Lower Manhattan. In the wider Occupy movement, many major cities around the world saw similar protests. These movements inspired some protests in France at the time, such as an ''indignados''-style protest at La Défense in November 2011.<ref name="Monde 2011-11-07">{{cite news|last1=Hopquin|first1=Benoît|title=Sale temps pour les "indignés" de la Défense|url=http://www.lemonde.fr/societe/article/2011/11/07/sale-temps-pour-les-indignes-de-la-defense_1599896_3224.html|accessdate=14 April 2016|work=Le Monde|date=November 7, 2011|language=fr}}</ref> However, these protests had a limited impact in the country before 2016.<ref name="Haski 04-13"/> The French commentator Pierre Haski explains:
<blockquote>The delayed reaction of the French youth has a lot to do with President François Hollande. In 2011 and 2012, when Occupy was the rallying cry of many cities, giving rise to political movements such as Podemos in Spain, the French were looking forward to electing a Socialist president instead of the highly unpopular Nicolas Sarkozy. Why occupy when the polls will do the job?<ref name="Haski 04-13"/></blockquote>
Over time, many in France became disappointed with Hollande's government, believing that it had failed to deliver on its promises.<ref name="Haski 04-13"/> In particular, his government failed to reduce chronically high unemployment rates in the country: in early 2016 the rate was at 10.6 percent, up from 9 percent when Hollande took office, while the youth unemployment rate was above 25 percent.<ref name="Jacobin 04-28"/> By early 2016, opinion polls said that four in five voters were opposed to Hollande running for re-election in 2017.<ref name="Haski 04-13">{{cite news|last1=Haski|first1=Pierre|authorlink1=Pierre Haski|title=Nuit debout protests are confirmation that France's political system is broken|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/apr/13/nuit-debout-france-occupy-wall-street-1968|accessdate=14 April 2016|work=The Guardian|date=13 April 2016}}</ref><ref name="France24 04-10">{{cite news|title=Quatre Français sur cinq ne veulent pas que François Hollande se représente en 2017|url=http://www.france24.com/fr/20160410-france-election-presidentielle-2017-sondages-francois-hollande-jdd|accessdate=14 April 2016|publisher=France 24|date=10 April 2016|language=fr}}</ref>
In an effort to reduce the unemployment rate, Hollande's government had embarked on a program of labor market liberalization.<ref name="Jacobin 04-28"/> As part of this program, the government set out proposals, named after the Labor Minister Myriam El Khomri, designed to make France's labor market more flexible.<ref name="France24 03-05">{{Cite web|first1=Avi|last1=Davis|url=http://www.france24.com/en/20160305-france-labor-reform-petition-hits-million-signatures|title=Online petition against French labour reform hits million-signature record|publisher=France 24|language=en-US|access-date=14 April 2016|date=5 March 2015}}</ref><ref name="Monde 04-06"/> If adopted, the El Khomri law would make sweeping changes to the country's labor code, with the effect of making it easier for companies to lay off workers, and loosening restrictions on working hours, including reducing overtime payments for hours worked beyond France's statutory 35-hour workweek.<ref name="Jacobin 04-28">{{cite news|last1=Birch|first1=Jonah|title=A French Spring|url=https://www.jacobinmag.com/2016/04/france-labor-code-hollande-nuit-debout/|accessdate=28 April 2016|work=Jacobin|date=28 April 2016}}</ref><ref name="BBC 03-09"/> The changes would also reduce severance payments that workers are entitled to if their company has made them redundant.<ref name="Jacobin 04-28"/>
The proposals were met with significant public resistance. The country's youth organizations and unions organized a series of large-scale street protests in opposition to the reforms, the first of which was held on 9 March 2016.<ref name="BBC 03-09">{{cite news|title=France unions and youths protest against labour reforms|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-35762251|accessdate=14 April 2016|publisher=BBC News|date=9 March 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.challenges.fr/economie/social/20160317.CHA6375/loi-travail-les-chiffres-des-manifestations.html|title=Loi travail : les chiffres des manifestations|date=17 March 2016|work=Challenges|accessdate=8 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160420184157/http://www.challenges.fr/economie/social/20160317.CHA6375/loi-travail-les-chiffres-des-manifestations.html|archive-date=20 April 2016|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref> The largest of these protests, on 31 March attracted 390,000 participants nationwide, according to the French authorities (unions put the figure at 1.2 million).<ref name="Monde 03-31">{{cite web|url=http://www.lemonde.fr/politique/article/2016/03/31/plusieurs-dizaines-de-milliers-de-personnes-defilent-contre-le-projet-de-loi-travail_4893325_823448.html|title=Près de 390 000 personnes ont manifesté contre la loi travail, selon les autorités|work=Le Monde|accessdate=8 April 2016|date=31 March 2016|language=fr}}</ref> According to the Belgian sociologist Geoffrey Pleyers, these demonstrations gained traction not just because of the unpopularity of the proposed changes to the labor code, but because of widespread opposition to the government's policies generally:
<blockquote>What distinguishes social movements from mere protests is that they have a larger purpose, not one specific demand. From the first meetings of university and high school students on 9 March the El Khomri law served as an opportunity to express general indignation. In protest leaflets, students called for resistance "against government policy" rather than just this one bill. During marches, protesters expressed their disappointment with the political left in general and the ruling Socialist Party in particular.<ref name="Pleyers 04-14">{{cite news|last1=Pleyers|first1=Geoffrey|authorlink1=Geoffrey Pleyers|title=Are France's #NuitDebout protests the start of a new political movement?|url=https://theconversation.com/are-frances-nuitdebout-protests-the-start-of-a-new-political-movement-57706|accessdate=14 April 2016|work=The Conversation|date=14 April 2016}}</ref></blockquote>
==Origins== The Nuit debout movement has its origins at a meeting held in Paris on 23 February 2016 which was organized by François Ruffin, the founder of the left-wing journal ''Fakir'' and the director of the documentary film ''Merci patron!''.<ref name="Monde 04-06">{{cite news|last1=Besse Desmoulières|first1=Raphaëlle|title=Nuit debout, histoire d'un ovni politique|url=http://www.lemonde.fr/politique/article/2016/04/06/nuit-debout-histoire-d-un-ovni-politique_4896808_823448.html|accessdate=9 April 2016|work=Le Monde|date=6 April 2016|language=fr}}</ref> Ruffin stated that the aim of the meeting was to bring together a number of active protest groups, including people protesting against a proposed airport at Notre-Dame-des-Landes, factory workers protesting against the Goodyear tire company, and teachers protesting against education reforms.<ref name="figaro-genèse">{{cite news|last1=Bastié|first1=Eugénie|title=Nuit debout : genèse d'un mouvement pas si spontané|url=http://www.lefigaro.fr/actualite-france/2016/04/07/01016-20160407ARTFIG00102-nuit-debout-genese-d-un-mouvement-pas-si-spontane.php|accessdate=9 April 2016|work=Le Figaro|date=7 April 2016|language=fr}}</ref> A retired delivery driver who attended the meeting was quoted as saying, "There were about 300 or 400 of us at a public meeting in February and we were wondering how can we really scare the government?. We had an idea: at the next big street protest, we simply wouldn't go home."<ref name="Guardian 04-08"/> Those attending the meeting agreed that they would occupy Paris's Place de la République on 31 March 2016, following organized street protests that were scheduled to take place on that day against the El Khomri law.<ref name="Monde 04-06"/>
The organizers of the occupation refused to set out a specific list of political demands in advance, although they did denounce the government's proposed reforms as regressive, and they called for the construction of a new political project that would be "ambitious, progressive, and emancipatory".<ref name="Monde 04-06"/> The economist Frédéric Lordon was invited to speak at the Place de la République on the evening of 31 March. He delivered a speech in which he highlighted the goal of uniting disparate protest movements.<ref name="libé-lordon">{{cite news|last1=Schneidermann|first1=Daniel|authorlink1=Daniel Schneidermann|title=Frédéric Lordon à la République, mine de rien|url=http://www.liberation.fr/debats/2016/04/03/frederic-lordon-a-la-republique-mine-de-rien_1443682|accessdate=10 April 2016|work=Libération|date=3 April 2016|language=fr}}</ref>
==Events==
===Place de la République occupation=== thumb|Following the initial protests on 31 March, protestors continued to gather each night in Paris's Place de la République. thumb|Voting at Global Debout
Following the initial night of occupation at the Place de la République, protesters continued to gather over the following days, defying a ban on mass demonstrations under the ongoing state of emergency declared by the government in the wake of the November 2015 Paris attacks.<ref name="FT 04-22">{{cite news|last1=Chassany|first1=Anne-Sylvaine|title=France's latest protest party lasts all night|url=https://www.ft.com/content/3d065e86-06d0-11e6-a70d-4e39ac32c284|accessdate=28 April 2016|work=Financial Times|date=22 April 2016}}</ref><ref name="ap">{{cite news|last1=Satter|first1=Raphael|title=Paris' Occupy-style protesters carry warning for French left|url=http://bigstory.ap.org/article/ebe59867cf77420394a1bfaa935209bc/paris-occupy-style-protesters-carry-warning-french-left|accessdate=10 April 2016|agency=Associated Press|date=7 April 2016}}</ref> Participants began gathering every night at 6 p.m. to conduct a popular assembly (''assemblée générale''), individuals taking turns to speak for two minutes at a time.<ref name="Guardian 04-08"/><ref name="Independent 04-11">{{cite news|last1=Jones|first1=Matthew|title=The 'Nuit debout' protests could spawn a Podemos for France - but that's not what demonstrators want|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/the-nuit-debout-protests-could-spawn-a-podemos-for-france-but-thats-not-what-demonstrators-want-a6978511.html|accessdate=28 April 2016|work=The Independent|date=11 April 2016}}</ref> A system of hand gestures was established, with crowd members waving their fingers above their heads to indicate agreement, and crossing their wrists to indicate disagreement.<ref name="Guardian 04-08"/>
On the morning of Monday 11 April, the twelfth day of the protests, police evacuated the square, removing temporary structures that protestors had built, though protestors were given permission to return the same evening.<ref name="Indy 04-11">{{cite news|last1=Lichfield|first1=John|title=Police remove Nuit Debout protesters but the 'revolution' is set to continue|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/police-remove-nuit-debout-protesters-but-the-revolution-is-set-to-continue-a6978596.html|accessdate=12 April 2016|work=The Independent|date=11 April 2016}}</ref> The occupation of the square had earlier been criticized by politicians from France's two main parties.<ref name="Obs 04-11">{{cite news|last1=Lamort|first1=Edouard|title=Les anti Nuit Debout donnent (aussi) de la voix|url=http://tempsreel.nouvelobs.com/politique/20160411.OBS8273/les-anti-nuit-debout-donnent-aussi-de-la-voix.html|accessdate=12 April 2016|work=L'Obs|date=11 April 2016|language=fr}}</ref> Valérie Pécresse, the Republican President of the Île-de-France region, declared that the square should either be evacuated, or that the protestors should police the square themselves.<ref name="Obs 04-11"/> Anne Hidalgo, the Socialist Mayor of Paris, expressed her sympathy for the movement but warned the protestors against occupying the square during the daytime, saying that the square was a public space and that it should be available for the use of all members of the public.<ref name="Monde 04-11">{{cite news|last1=Jérôme|first1=Béatrice|title=L'avertissement d'Anne Hidalgo à la Nuit debout|url=http://www.lemonde.fr/politique/article/2016/04/11/l-avertissement-d-anne-hidalgo-a-la-nuit-debout_4900203_823448.html|accessdate=12 April 2016|work=Le Monde|date=11 April 2016|language=fr}}</ref><ref name="France24 04-12">{{cite news|last1=Holman|first1=Rachel|title=French 'occupy' protests in Paris 'a pain in the neck'|url=http://www.france24.com/en0160412-france-paris-all-night-protest-movement-pain-necknuit-debout-austerity-unemployment|accessdate=12 April 2016|publisher=France 24|date=12 April 2016}}</ref>
On the evening of 14 April, President François Hollande participated in a televised interview, which was projected live on a giant screen in the Place de la République, in which he vowed to press ahead with the labor reforms.<ref name="Obs 04-15">{{cite news|last1=Vilars|first1=Timothée|title=Echauffourées à Paris après l'émission de François Hollande|url=http://tempsreel.nouvelobs.com/politique/20160415.OBS8565/manifestations-sauvages-en-direction-de-l-elysee-apres-l-emission-de-francois-hollande.html|accessdate=17 April 2016|work=L'Obs|date=15 April 2016|language=fr}}</ref> Following the interview, a group of protesters (300, according to the police) left the square in the direction of the Élysée Palace, the president's official residence.<ref name="Obs 04-15"/> The protestors were diverted by the police and eventually dispersed.<ref name="Obs 04-15"/> Several banks, commercial premises, and vehicles were vandalized, and there were some violent clashes between protestors and security forces.<ref name="Obs 04-15"/> In the days following these events, the movement failed to adopt a collective position distancing itself from these actions.<ref name="Express 04-17"/> A substantial majority of participants at the Place de la République, however, declared themselves opposed to violent protest.<ref name="Express 04-17">{{cite news|title=Condamner ou ne rien dire? "Nuit Debout" confronté à la question de la violence|url=http://www.lexpress.fr/actualite/societe/condamner-ou-ne-rien-dire-nuit-debout-confronte-a-la-question-de-la-violence_1783576.html|accessdate=17 April 2016|work=L'Express|date=17 April 2016|language=fr}}</ref>
===Occupations in France=== [[File:Nuit Debout Nice du 46 mars 2016.jpg|thumb|300px|A popular assembly held at a Nuit debout gathering in Nice, 15 March 2016]]
Over the first week the protests spread to over 30 cities across France.<ref name="ibt">{{cite news|last1=Wheeler|first1=Alex|title=A French Spring? Nuit Debout steps up its occupation protests across France|url=http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/french-spring-nuit-debout-steps-its-occupation-protests-across-france-1553694|accessdate=10 April 2016|work=International Business Times|date=7 April 2016}}</ref> The academic David Graeber, a leading figure in the Occupy Wall Street protests of 2011, said that the protests had spread much faster than those of 2011.<ref name="newsweek"/> Explaining the spread of the protests, Graeber was quoted as saying, "There seems to be this sense of betrayal. [It's] the fact that it is an ostensibly left-wing government that did the state of emergency, that did the labor law, that's done a whole series of different things. These [the protestors] are the people that voted for them… [They] assumed that such a government would somehow speak for their concerns. They're just really pissed off."<ref name="newsweek"/>
During the first two weeks, assemblies took place mostly in city center locations, and some critics accused the movement of being predominantly white, bourgeois, and unrepresentative of the wider population.<ref name="Monde 04-13">{{cite news|last1=Camus|first1=Elvire|title=" Il faut amener la Nuit debout dans les banlieues et non l'inverse "|url=http://www.lemonde.fr/societe/article/2016/04/13/il-faut-ramener-la-nuit-debout-dans-les-banlieues-et-non-l-inverse_4901381_3224.html|accessdate=29 April 2016|work=Le Monde|date=13 April 2016|language=fr}}</ref> In response to this concern, participants in Paris argued in favor of expanding the movement into the banlieues.<ref name="Monde 04-13"/> Several Nuit debout events were held in Paris suburbs such as Saint-Denis and Saint-Ouen in mid-April, however these failed to attract local participants in large numbers.<ref name="Monde 04-14">{{cite news|last1=Zappi|first1=Sylvia|last2=Camus|first2=Elvire|title=Le mouvement Nuit debout peine à s'étendre en banlieue|url=http://www.lemonde.fr/banlieues/article/2016/04/14/le-mouvement-nuit-debout-peine-a-s-etendre-en-banlieue_4901663_1653530.html|accessdate=14 April 2016|work=Le Monde|language=fr}}</ref><ref name="Libe 04-20">{{cite news|title=Les tentatives de Nuit debout en banlieue se multiplient mais peinent à mobiliser les quartiers|url=http://www.liberation.fr/societe/2016/04/20/les-tentatives-de-nuit-debout-en-banlieue-se-multiplient-mais-peinent-a-mobiliser-les-quartiers_1447474|accessdate=29 April 2016|work=Libération|agency=AFP|date=20 April 2016|language=fr}}</ref> An event organized in the northern parts of Marseille on 23 April likewise failed to greatly engage the local population.<ref name="Monde 04-24">{{cite news|last1=Rof|first1=Gilles|title=A Marseille, Nuit debout se heurte durement à la réalité des quartiers nord|url=http://www.lemonde.fr/societe/article/2016/04/24/a-marseille-la-nuit-debout-se-heurte-a-la-realite-des-quartiers-nord_4907725_3224.html|accessdate=29 April 2016|work=Le Monde|date=24 April 2016|language=fr}}</ref> Activists suggested that the movement's message, such as its opposition to changes to the labor code, had little traction in the area because many residents there were already unemployed, and because such areas had for decades been marginalized and ignored by wider society.<ref name="Monde 04-24"/>
===Protests spread outside France=== The movement quickly spread to neighbouring countries in Europe. Within the first ten days, protests were held in cities including Brussels,<ref name="Guardian 04-08"/> Berlin, Lisbon, and Madrid.<ref name="Publico 04-08">{{cite news|last1=Grodira|first1=Fermín|title=La Nuit Debout se expande a Europa|url=http://www.publico.es/internacional/nuit-debout-expande-europa.html|accessdate=10 April 2016|work=Público|date=8 April 2016|language=es}}</ref> On 22 April 2016, around 200 people gathered in Montreal, Quebec, Canada to conduct a general assembly.<ref name="Express Tribune 04-23"/> Participants discussed issues surrounding the environment, feminism, and indigenous people's rights, as well as economic issues including the fight for a $15 minimum wage.<ref name="Express Tribune 04-23">{{cite news|title=Montreal tries on 'Up All Night'|url=http://tribune.com.pk/story/1090264/montreal-tries-on-up-all-night/|accessdate=28 April 2016|work=The Express Tribune|agency=AFP|date=23 April 2016}}</ref><ref name="Link 04-23">{{cite news|last1=Bauer|first1=Hélène|title=Nuit Debout in Montreal|url=http://thelinknewspaper.ca/article/nuit-debout-in-montreal|accessdate=28 April 2016|work=The Link|date=23 April 2016}}</ref> An event was organized in Glasgow, Scotland on 2 May; its organizers suggested that trade unions should get involved, stating that the movement "presents a great opportunity for unions to adapt to the twenty-first century".<ref name="National 05-11">{{cite news|first1=Nadine|last1=McBay|url=http://www.thenational.scot/world/theres-beauty-in-the-future-anti-austerity-movement-comes-to-glasgow.16984|title='There's beauty in the future': Anti-austerity movement comes to Glasgow|date=2 May 2016|accessdate=11 May 2016|work=The National}}</ref>
Nuit debout's organizers called for a global day of protests, under the name ''Global debout'', to take place on Sunday, 15 May, a date chosen to coincide with the fifth anniversary of the Spanish Indignados movement.<ref name="France24 05-16">{{cite news|title=Attempt to turn France's 'Nuit Debout' protest movement global falls flat|url=http://www.france24.com/en/20160516-attempt-turn-france-nuit-debout-protest-movement-global-falls-flat-indignados|accessdate=16 May 2016|publisher=France 24|date=16 May 2016}}</ref> Events were scheduled to take place in 266 locations in France, and in 130 cities outside France, across 28 countries.<ref name="Figaro 05-15">{{cite news|title=Nuit debout tente de s'exporter à l'étranger|url=http://www.lefigaro.fr/actualite-france/2016/05/15/01016-20160515ARTFIG00165-nuit-debout-tente-de-s-exporter-a-l-etranger.php|accessdate=18 May 2016|work=Le Figaro|date=15 May 2016|language=fr}}</ref> Turnout on the day was low: in Brussels around 150 people participated; in Berlin the number was around 100; in Paris's Place de la République around 1,500 people attended.<ref name="France24 05-16"/>
==Themes== alt=The young occupants of the Place de la République remake the world (39 March)|thumb|The young occupants of the Place de la République remake the world (29 March) While the initial street protests arose out of opposition to the El Khomri labor reforms, the Nuit debout movement itself coalesced from the beginning around a much broader set of themes.<ref name="Pleyers 04-08"/> Among recurring themes of discussion are: calls for a universal basic income;<ref name="Libe 04-15"/> opposition to labor arrangements which place workers in competition with one another, as enshrined in trade treaties such as the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership;<ref name="Libe 04-15">{{cite news|last1=Peillon|first1=Luc|last2=Peyret|first2=Emmanuèle|last3=Ballet|first3=Virginie|last4=Cailhol|first4=Amandine|title=Ce que retient la nuit|url=http://www.liberation.fr/france/2016/04/15/ce-que-retient-la-nuit_1446592|accessdate=18 April 2016|work=Libération|date=15 April 2016|language=fr}}</ref> amnesty for undocumented migrants and solidarity with refugees;<ref name="Libe 04-06">{{cite news|last1=Mouillard|first1=Sylvain|last2=Cailhol|first2=Amandine|title=Nuit debout trouve son assise|url=http://www.liberation.fr/france/2016/04/06/nuit-debout-trouve-son-assise_1444461|accessdate=18 April 2016|work=Libération|date=6 April 2016|language=fr}}</ref> and feminist issues including the gender pay gap and the safety of sex workers.<ref name="Libe 04-15"/>
Some within the movement have called for a general strike along the lines of previous major strikes in France, in 1936 and in May 1968, with the aim of forcing the withdrawal of the El Khomri law.<ref name="Monde 04-15">{{cite news|last1=Villechenon|first1=Anna|title=Nuit debout : la grève générale en débat|url=http://www.lemonde.fr/societe/article/2016/04/15/nuit-debout-la-greve-generale-en-debat_4903231_3224.html|accessdate=18 April 2016|work=Le Monde|date=15 April 2016|language=fr}}</ref> Frédéric Lordon has argued that the movement should seek to rewrite the French constitution, abolishing private ownership of the means of production as enshrined in the existing constitution, and granting ownership instead to those who derive use value from capital.<ref name="Obs 04-16">{{cite news|title=Nuit Debout. Frédéric Lordon : "Pour en finir avec l'empire du capital..."|url=http://tempsreel.nouvelobs.com/politique/20160415.OBS8653/nuit-debout-frederic-lordon-pour-en-finir-avec-l-empire-du-capital.html|accessdate=28 April 2016|work=L'Obs|date=16 April 2016|language=fr}}</ref> A discussion group was set up in the Place de la République on the question of what should be included in such a rewritten constitution; some suggested that government should be selected by sortition, or that elected officials should be subject to recall by voters.<ref name="Humanite 04-14">{{cite news|last1=Soucheyre|first1=Aurélien|title=Nuit Debout. Réécrire la Constitution, par tous et pour tous|url=https://www.humanite.fr/nuit-debout-reecrire-la-constitution-par-tous-et-pour-tous-604695|accessdate=28 April 2016|work=L'Humanité|date=14 April 2016|language=fr}}</ref>
As with the French Revolution, the movement rewrote the calendar: all dates following the 31 March protest were renamed as a continuation of the month of March. 7 April, for example, is 38 mars, or 38 March.<ref name="obs-34mars">{{cite news|last1=Schneidermann|first1=Daniel|title=34 mars : le drôle de calendrier de #NuitDebout|url=http://rue89.nouvelobs.com/2016/04/04/34-mars-calendrier-nuitdebout-263658|accessdate=10 April 2016|work=L'Obs|date=4 April 2016|language=fr}}</ref>
==Radio debout, TV debout, and alternative media channels== [[File:Nuit debout, paris, day 62 - 26259716104.jpg|thumb|French philosopher Jacques Rancière being interviewed by protestors, who set up their own TV station broadcasting over the Internet from Paris's Place de la République]]
Protestors in the movement have declared themselves wary of mainstream media coverage, preferring to communicate via alternative channels.<ref name="Monde 04-20">{{cite news|last1=Reynaud|first1=Florian|title=Nuit debout ne sait pas sur quel pied communiquer|url=http://www.lemonde.fr/societe/article/2016/04/20/nuit-debout-ne-sait-pas-sur-quel-pied-communiquer_4905506_3224.html|accessdate=24 April 2016|work=Le Monde|date=20 April 2016|language=fr}}</ref> In Paris's Place de la République, activists set up their own radio and TV stations, broadcasting over the Internet.<ref name="libe 2016-04-10">{{cite news|last1=Halissat|first1=Ismaël|title=Nuit debout sur les ondes|url=http://www.liberation.fr/france/2016/04/10/nuit-debout-sur-les-ondes_1445172|accessdate=11 April 2016|work=Libération|date=10 April 2016|language=fr}}</ref> The initial set-up for Radio debout involved a table, four chairs, three microphones, a mixing desk, two computers, and a 4G USB stick.<ref name="libe 2016-04-10"/> It was set up by individuals with a background working for France's national radio stations,<ref name="libe 2016-04-10"/> and streamed on the site Mixlr.<ref name="Inrocks 04-20">{{cite news|last1=Quentel|first1=Amélie|title=Comment les médias de "Nuit debout" font entendre leur voix|url=http://www.lesinrocks.com/2016/04/20/actualite/medias-de-nuit-debout-entendre-voix-11821079/|accessdate=24 April 2016|work=Les Inrockuptibles|date=20 April 2016|language=fr}}</ref>
TV debout, meanwhile, was set up with the intention of broadcasting the general assemblies taking places in the square, interspersed with interviews and analysis.<ref name="Inrocks 04-20"/> The interviews were initially conducted on a white sofa with a cardboard sign suspended in the background with the letters of "TV debout" cut out.<ref name="libe 2016-04-10"/> The channel was streamed over YouTube.<ref name="Inrocks 04-20"/>
Other channels of communication established by the movement include a newspaper titled ''20 mille luttes'', and various Facebook and Twitter accounts.<ref name="Monde 04-20"/> In addition, several people began live-streaming events over the smartphone app Periscope.<ref name="Monde 04-20"/> The most notable of these is Rémy Buisine, a 25-year-old online community manager whose stream attracted as many as 80,000 viewers simultaneously on the evening of 3 April.<ref name="Haski 04-13"/><ref name="Monde 04-04">{{cite news|last1=Piquard|first1=Alexandre|title=#NuitDebout : derrière le live, un community manager " pas militant "|url=http://www.lemonde.fr/societe/article/2016/04/04/derriere-le-live-de-nuitdebout-un-community-manager-de-25-ans_4895634_3224.html|accessdate=24 April 2016|work=Le Monde|date=4 April 2016|language=fr}}</ref> Buisine presents himself as independent of the movement, and as a neutral observer of events.<ref name="Monde 04-04"/><ref name="Francetv 04-11">{{cite news|last1=Lambert|first1=Elise|title=Qui est Rémy Buisine, le "périscopeur" de Nuit debout ?|url=http://www.francetvinfo.fr/economie/emploi/carriere/vie-professionnelle/droit-du-travail/qui-est-remy-buisine-le-periscopeur-de-nuit-debout_1400519.html|accessdate=24 April 2016|publisher=France Télévisions|date=11 April 2016|language=fr}}</ref>
==Reactions==
===Public opinion=== The movement received broad public support, with polls showing that a majority of the French public held a favourable view towards it. A survey conducted by the polling agency Odoxa on behalf of the television news channel i-Télé, and published on 9 April 2016, found that 71% of respondents had heard of the movement, and that 60% supported it.<ref name="itele">{{cite news|title=60% des Français soutiennent le mouvement "Nuit Debout"|url=http://www.itele.fr/france/video/60-des-francais-soutiennent-le-mouvement-nuit-debout-160621|accessdate=24 April 2016|publisher=i-Télé|date=9 April 2016|language=fr}}</ref> An Ifop poll of 18–25-year-olds, published by ''Metronews'' on 13 April indicated that 61% of this age group supported the movement, and that 47% declared themselves willing to participate in it.<ref name="Metronews">{{cite news|last1=Michelon|first1=Vincent|title=SONDAGE EXCLUSIF - Un nouveau Mai-68 en France ? La jeunesse y pense|url=http://www.metronews.fr/info/sondage-exclusif-69-des-18-25-estiment-qu-un-nouveau-mai-68-est-possible-en-france/mpdm!8lCmOms9GZS82/|accessdate=24 April 2016|work=Metronews|date=13 April 2016|language=fr}}</ref> A later Odoxa poll, published on 15 May, found that the movement had lost some support among the public, with 49% of respondents saying they supported the movement.<ref name="Francetv 05-15">{{cite news|title=D'après un sondage "Nuit debout" perd en popularité|url=http://france3-regions.francetvinfo.fr/paris-ile-de-france/nuit-debout-perd-en-popularite-les-francais-ne-croient-pas-en-son-avenir-998233.html|accessdate=18 May 2016|publisher=France Télévisions|date=15 May 2016|language=fr}}</ref>
===Media coverage=== The French media analysis organization Acrimed likewise criticized French media coverage of the movement, suggesting that many journalists were only interested in covering the movement in order to discredit it.<ref name="Acrimed 04-19">{{cite news|last1=Lemaire|first1=Frédéric|last2=Salingue|first2=Julien|title=Nuit debout : il faut (encore) sauver le soldat Finkielkraut|url=http://www.acrimed.org/Nuit-debout-il-faut-encore-sauver-le-soldat|accessdate=11 May 2016|publisher=Acrimed|date=19 April 2016|language=fr}}</ref> In particular, the organization pointed to media coverage of an incident involving the philosopher Alain Finkielkraut, who was videoed being heckled by protesters at the Place de la République.<ref name="Acrimed 04-19"/><ref name="Politico 04-18">{{cite news|last1=Vinocur|first1=Nicholas|title=French protest movement stumbles over 'Finkiel-gate'|url=http://www.politico.eu/article/french-protest-movement-stumbles-over-finkiel-gate/|accessdate=11 May 2016|work=Politico|date=18 April 2016}}</ref><ref name="Monde 04-18">{{cite news|last1=Sénécat|first1=Adrien|last2=Laurent|first2=Samuel|title=Alain Finkielkraut expulsé de Nuit debout : les faits|url=http://www.lemonde.fr/les-decodeurs/article/2016/04/18/alain-finkielkraut-expulse-de-nuit-debout-les-faits_4904275_4355770.html|accessdate=11 May 2016|work=Le Monde|date=18 April 2016|language=fr}}</ref> Acrimed criticized journalists for reporting the incident without verifying the facts, and argued that coverage of the incident was disproportionate and that the media had failed to provide a similar level of information about the movement itself: about the movement's demands, or about its existence outside Paris.<ref name="Acrimed 04-19"/>
Laurent Joffrin, in an editorial for the left-leaning newspaper ''Libération'' written shortly after the Finkielkraut incident, defended his own paper's coverage of the movement, pointing out that its reporters had repeatedly been sent to document the debates taking place at the popular assemblies in Paris.<ref name="Libe 04-17"/> He suggested that Nuit debout had benefited from a degree of media goodwill out of proportion to the size of the movement.<ref name="Libe 04-17">{{cite news|last1=Joffrin|first1=Laurent|title=Finkielkraut expulsé, malaise à Nuit debout|url=http://www.liberation.fr/france/2016/04/17/finkielkraut-expulse-malaise-a-nuit-debout_1446830|accessdate=11 May 2016|work=Libération|date=17 April 2016|language=fr}}</ref>
===Politicians' reactions=== During its first month, the movement received support from politicians on the left of the political spectrum, while being condemned by parties on the right.<ref name="Monde 04-29">{{cite news|title=Depuis un mois, gauche et droite se divisent sur Nuit debout|url=http://www.lemonde.fr/politique/article/2016/04/29/depuis-un-mois-gauche-et-droite-se-divisent-sur-nuit-debout_4911065_823448.html|accessdate=30 April 2016|work=Le Monde|date=29 April 2016|language=fr}}</ref> The governing left-of-center Socialist Party broadly called for the movement to be tolerated.<ref name="Monde 04-29"/> Emmanuel Macron is a supporter of the law. He became the most vocal proponent of the economic overhaul of the country.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://time.com/4389043/emmanuel-macron-france-president-en-marche/|title=Emmanuel Macron Has Big Plans for France. Is It Ready for Them?|website=Time}}</ref>
On 11 April, Socialist Prime Minister Manuel Valls met with the country's student leaders, offering concessions on the proposed labor reforms in an effort to defuse the protests, saying, "The government is listening. It understands the youths' worries."<ref name="Reuters 04-11"/> The concessions included between €400 million and €500 million in aid for job seekers and other state support.<ref name="Reuters 04-11">{{cite news|title=France announces aid to youths to defuse 'Up All Night' tensions|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-france-politics-protests-idUSKCN0X80MS|accessdate=12 April 2016|agency=Reuters|date=11 April 2016}}</ref><ref name="BBC 04-11">{{cite news|title=France student protests: PM Valls offers jobseeker aid|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-36013849|accessdate=12 April 2016|publisher=BBC News|date=11 April 2016}}</ref> In a televised interview broadcast on 14 April 2016, President François Hollande vowed to press ahead with the proposed labor reforms.<ref name="DW 04-15"/> During the interview, Hollande said of the movement, "I find it legitimate that the youth - in relation to the world as it is, in relation to politics as they are - want to express themselves and want to have their say."<ref name="DW 04-15">{{cite news|title=France vows crackdown on any violence at La Nuit Debout protests|url=http://dw.com/p/1IWnt|accessdate=17 April 2016|publisher=Deutsche Welle|date=15 April 2016}}</ref>
On 10 May, facing opposition to the El Khomri law from a group of his own MPs, Prime Minister Valls announced that the government planned to force the bill through parliament without a vote, using Article 49.3 of the French Constitution.<ref name="BBC 05-10">{{cite news|title=French labour reforms: Government to force plan through|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-36259120|accessdate=11 May 2016|publisher=BBC News|date=10 May 2016}}</ref><ref name="NYT 05-10"/> The measure forces a vote of confidence in the government itself, meaning that in order to prevent the bill from being passed the Socialist Party's rebels would have to vote in favour of toppling their own government.<ref name="BBC 05-10"/> Hundreds of Nuit debout participants gathered outside France's National Assembly to protest the move.<ref name="NYT 05-10">{{cite news|last1=Nossiter|first1=Adam|title=Hollande Bypasses France's Lower House on Labor Law Overhaul|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/11/world/europe/france-hollande-labor-law-changes.html|accessdate=11 May 2016|work=The New York Times}}</ref> Similar protests occurred in other cities in France.<ref name="Express 05-10">{{cite news|title=Loi travail/Nuit debout: plusieurs milliers de personnes en France contre le 49-3|url=http://www.lexpress.fr/actualites/1/societe/loi-travail-nuit-debout-plusieurs-milliers-de-personnes-en-france-contre-le-49-3_1790828.html|accessdate=11 May 2016|work=L'Express|agency=AFP|date=10 May 2016|language=fr}}</ref> Nuit debout's organizers called the move "an insult to the people of this country",<ref name="DW 05-10">{{cite news|title=French government to face no-confidence vote|url=http://dw.com/p/1IlNQ|accessdate=11 May 2016|publisher=Deutsche Welle|date=10 May 2016}}</ref><ref name="Ouest-France 05-10">{{cite news|title=Pour Nuit Debout, le 49.3 serait une "insulte pour le peuple"|url=http://www.ouest-france.fr/societe/nuit-debout/pour-nuit-debout-le-493-serait-une-insulte-pour-le-peuple-4218466|accessdate=11 May 2016|work=Ouest-France|date=10 May 2016|language=fr}}</ref> while a number of unions called for further days of strike action.<ref name="Marianne 05-11">{{cite news|last1=Hausalter|first1=Louis|title=Loi Travail : le 49-3 remet les opposants debout|url=http://www.marianne.net/loi-travail-49-3-remet-les-opposants-debout-100242755.html|accessdate=11 May 2016|work=Marianne|date=11 May 2016|language=fr}}</ref> The government survived the confidence vote on 12 May, meaning that the labor bill would be passed directly to the Senate, France's upper house, for debate.<ref name="France24 05-12">{{cite news|title=French government survives no-confidence vote over divisive labour reforms|url=http://www.france24.com/en/20160512-french-government-survives-no-confidence-vote-over-divisive-labour-reforms|accessdate=12 May 2016|publisher=France 24|date=12 May 2016}}</ref>
==See also== * 2023 French pension reform strikes * Arson attacks in Grenoble * Yellow vests protests
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{Commons}} * {{in lang|fr}} [https://nuit-debout.fr Nuit Debout France] * {{in lang|fr}} [https://web.archive.org/web/20160410075854/https://www.convergence-des-luttes.org/ Convergence des luttes] * {{in lang|fr}} [https://wiki.nuit-debout.fr/wiki/Accueil Wiki Nuit Debout]
{{Authority control}}
Category:2016 protests Category:March 2016 in France Category:April 2016 in France Category:May 2016 in France Category:June 2016 in France Category:Labor disputes in France Category:Protests in France Category:Reform in France Category:Social movements in France