French authorities raised the security alert to its highest level and announced the deployment of 70,000 police and gendarmerie personnel across the country, in preparation for a new wave of protests against the high cost of living and declining purchasing power. This coincides with an authorized march by unions and student organizations, and calls by the "Yellow Vests" movement to gather at Place de la Concorde in Paris despite a ban on assembly there. The mobilization comes less than six months before the presidential election and follows Thursday's protests, during which the Interior Ministry detained 642 people.