France arrests 980 after protest clashes
Police detained nearly 1,000 people on Saturday as daytime marches turned into evening conflicts in multiple cities.
By Marco Graham ·
French police detained 980 people on Saturday, October 24, following a new round of nationwide demonstrations. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez announced the arrest count late in the day and noted that the total would likely increase. He also reported that two individuals sustained serious injuries, with one incident occurring in Toulouse and the other in Clermont-Ferrand.
The Interior Ministry estimated that 410,000 people participated in the events. Labor unions claimed the attendance figure reached approximately 800,000. To manage the crowds, authorities deployed 70,000 police officers across the country. These numbers reflect a major escalation in security planning compared to previous weeks.
During the daytime, demonstrations in most cities proceeded without major incident. The mood shifted in the evening when confrontations broke out in several locations. Police in Paris used tear gas and water cannon to clear crowds. In Marseille, protesters ignited barricades, and in Bordeaux, demonstrators removed boards from a storefront.
In the capital, the disturbance began near the end of a march route from Porte d'Italie to Porte de Vincennes. Police units, including an elite squad typically assigned to counter-terrorism, moved into the area. Protesters constructed temporary barriers and threw objects at officers. Police responded with baton charges against groups of masked youths who were breaking windows at a car dealership.
Nuñez stated that several thousand radical activists positioned themselves at the back of the march. He identified approximately 500 individuals as rioters. The minister's assessment suggests that a specific group drove the violence rather than the general crowd.
In Lyon, police fired tear gas to disperse a crowd in a zone the local prefecture had declared off-limits. One protester, who identified the group as consisting of roughly 150 secondary school and university students, told reporters that visibility in the street was minimal. The use of gas in this area marked a strict enforcement of the new gathering rules.
President Emmanuel Macron issued a decree earlier in the week restricting demonstrations to those organized by recognized trade unions. This rule aimed to prevent a repeat of the previous weekend's disorder. Authorities have since jailed hundreds of people through fast-track court hearings for acts of vandalism, arson, and looting.
Protesters expressed strong dissatisfaction with current conditions. A 26-year-old woman named Zelie in Paris described the situation as a case of people suffering a lot. Two masked teenagers indicated that their generation felt abandoned by the government. One of the teenagers acknowledged that looting was not ideal but attributed the behavior to poverty and police violence. They stated the protests would continue until demands were met.
In Orléans, approximately 13,000 people gathered peacefully to oppose the hard-right National Rally party. This event contrasted with the clashes seen in larger metropolitan areas. The unrest also extended to other countries, with riot police firing tear gas in Tirana, Albania, and clashes reported in Brussels. In Milan, soldiers and police blocked protesters from gathering to prevent a repeat of the previous week's violence.
The current unrest follows a turbulent weekend when roughly 550,000 people marched against fuel prices. That event resulted in more than 2,500 arrests and damage to over 2,000 businesses. The Chambers of Commerce and Industry estimated the damage in the hundreds of millions of euros. Approximately 1,000 police officers were injured, and one demonstrator lost a hand to a crowd-control grenade. With presidential elections six months away, leading candidates have placed blame on President Macron and his cabinet.
