France protests: How a viral TikTok rumour, 132 million views and the ‘Young Vests’ slogan revived memories of the 2018 Yellow Vests movement

France protests: Hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets across France, Belgium, Italy and Portugal on Saturday to protest against rising living costs, low wages and deteriorating public services, with demonstrations turning violent in several cities. In France alone, an estimated 550,000 people participated in demonstrations over school conditions, rising fuel prices and the cost of living.

The protests in France have also drawn attention to the role of social media in bringing protesters together. Weeks before the demonstrations, an anonymous TikTok account reportedly posted a video calling for people to take to the streets on October 17. The video quickly gained traction online, turning a date into a rallying point for people frustrated with the country's economic conditions, reports French newspaper Le Monde.

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According to Le Monde, the video was posted on September 7 by an account known as “V2”. It reportedly attracted more than 600,000 likes and nearly 10,000 comments, which reportedly gave the call for protests. While the October 17 date is presented as "official" in a large number of messages posted to social media, no organization, Facebook or Instagram page linked to the Yellow Vests appears to be behind the call.

The phrase “Gilets Jeunes”, which translates to “Young Vests”, has a connection between France’s original Yellow Vests movement and the latest student protests. The original Yellow Vests protests began in 2018, driven by anger over fuel prices and the cost of living. On Monday, October 12, 2026, a Facebook page called “Citizen Resistance” published the phrase “Gilets Jeunes”.

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How a viral TikTok video helped spread the October 17 protest call

The first calls for people to protest against skyrocketing fuel prices on October 17 emerged in September through an anonymous TikTok account. A number of accounts referencing the Yellow Vests and intensively sharing calls to protest, were created or renamed on September 9.

According to figures from Visibrain, a company specializing in monitoring social media, nearly 460,000 messages about October 17 have been posted on platforms in France since September 27. There was a surge in social media activities for the past few days, peaking on October 11, when nearly 65,000 posts and videos were shared on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and X. Social media posts increasingly called for students, workers, pensioners and Yellow Vests supporters to unite under the banner of “Gilets Jeunes”, or “Young Vests”.

TikTok videos receive 132 million views

TikTok emerged as the biggest platform for the online campaign and Visibrain reported that videos mentioning October 17 had attracted a cumulative 132 million views and 18 million likes.

"It's on TikTok that the mobilization generates the most engagement, with 132 million cumulative views of videos mentioning October 17, and 18 million likes," Visibrain noted. The momentum then spread to Facebook, where various Yellow Vest groups, pages and profiles have been reactivated. Maxime Nicolle, an influential flagbearer of the movement also known as Fly Rider, resurfaced on October 8 to promise his "presence as a father" on October 17.

Even Jérôme Rodrigues, another prominent Yellow Vest figure who lost an eye due to a grenade strike during a protest in January 2019, saw Saturday's mobilization as "an opportunity to put everyday hardships back at the center of public debate." He had initially dismissed it as a "TikTok trend" without "anything concrete behind it."

The content ranged from direct calls to protest to humorous videos and parodies. Some clips remixed scenes from Avengers: Endgame and the Netflix series Arcane, while others offered tongue-in-cheek tutorials about what to wear to the demonstrations.

France's 140-year-old Town Hall burnt

A 143-year-old town hall in the French city of Limoges, which served as a hub for resistance activities during Nazi occupation and hosted Belgium’s government-in-exile in 1940, has been largely destroyed after protesters set it ablaze during violent demonstrations over the cost of living, school conditions and public services.

Local officials said around two-thirds of the historic building had been destroyed in the fire, describing the damage as a “catastrophe for heritage”. The destruction came as protests swept across France on Saturday, with demonstrations over rising fuel prices, inflation and deteriorating public services turning violent in several cities. An estimated 550,000 people took part in the marches, according to the French interior ministry.

(With agency inputs)