Nuit Debout: middle class protests in neoliberal France

Since March, France has known a wave of opposition against a labour law reform. The reform plans to further deregulate labour and decentralize bargaining, among other things; it will dispose of decades of social gains. 74% of French people oppose it. It has brought more than a million people on the street for the last 2 months, and led to heated confrontations between the police and participants. Public squares have been occupied under the name Nuit Debout (meaning “standing up night” or “awoken night”). The movement started in Paris, and gained other major cities after 10 days. As I was staying in France in April to conduct research in Lille, where I come from, I took interest in the movement, and decided to spend a couple of nights at Nuit Debout.