French teachers say the government's protest package falls short, and consumer confidence hits a 2013 low

The government put a price on its answer to the protests on Monday. Within a day, the teachers the answer was built for said the price is not the problem. The offer itself is too small.

The package caps some class sizes at 28, opens billions of euros in loans to renovate school buildings and rewrites the university admissions system that students say builds inequality into the process. Sophie Venetitay, secretary general of the SNES-FSU teachers union, told reporters the measures do not go far enough, because caps should cover more classes and the schools need more people hired. "Today, what the ministry has said is only the beginning of a response," she said. "It will not be enough to extinguish the anger." Student leaders called the package a good first step and vowed to keep demonstrating, on October 31, on Saturday and on November 5.

Budget Minister David Amiel told TF1 the measures will cost about 5 billion euros and will be paid for with spending cuts in other places. France carries public debt near 120 percent of national output, and bond markets have been pressing the government to cut that debt, which leaves the Elysee little spare cash to buy calm the way earlier governments did. Interior Minister Laurent Nunez told RTL that police will keep a heavy presence on Saturday, two weeks after the October 17 violence brought looting, curfews and bans on large gatherings.

The mood in the country is moving with the protests. INSEE said on Tuesday that its consumer confidence index fell 5 points to 80 in October, from a revised 85 in September, the lowest reading since June 2013, as of October 27. Economists surveyed by Reuters had expected 85. The index has a long term average of 100. The share of households saying prices rose sharply over the past year climbed 8 points, after a 6 point climb in September. Households marked down their past finances by 9 points and their future finances by 6, fears about unemployment rose 5 points, and the share calling this a good time to save fell 6 points.

The movement began in September with high school students blocking their schools over staffing and building conditions. Trade unions and yellow vest activists have since joined it, marching over the cost of living and the state of public services. Reuters reported that the turmoil has lifted Marine Le Pen, who leads polling for the first round of next spring's presidential election. President Emmanuel Macron admitted in Marseille on Monday that the state failed to see October 17 coming. Tuesday brought the reply his concessions will be judged by: the protests continue.