Are people free to protest in France?

Answer 1

Yes, people are free to protest in France. Street protests have to get permission in advance from local authorities, and to provide them with contact information of the organisers. That allows the authorities to check the routes, the disruption to public transports, the safety of the public and of the protesters, discuss the stewarding, and so on. In Paris there is a daily average of about thirty demonstrations, most of them involving only a handful of protesters.