<p>Making innocent protesters liable for damage would be bad for rule of law and play into far-right hands, say opponents</p><p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/emmanuel-macron">Emmanuel Macron</a> has been accused by trade unions of trying to curb the fundamental French right to protest as the government fast-tracks a bill to make protesters pay for damage caused by vandalism at street demonstrations even if they did not directly cause it themselves.</p><p>The French president, who leaves office next spring, has faced more than a month of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/oct/10/school-protesters-sevran-paris-suburb-france">protests</a> in which high-school students have <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/oct/06/how-dilapidated-french-schools-inequality-education-system-protests">blockaded schools</a> demanding a response to teacher absences, repairs to decrepit buildings and changes to the university applications platform.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/oct/25/macrons-vandals-pay-bill-puts-right-to-protest-at-risk">Continue reading...</a>