Police deployed tear gas and water cannons as clashes erupted in Paris, Marseille and other French cities Saturday, with hundreds of thousands protesting rising living costs and education policies amid heightened tensions between demonstrators and President Emmanuel Macron’s government.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
Violent clashes erupted across France on Saturday, Oct. 24, as hundreds of thousands of demonstrators returned to the streets to protest rising living costs, education funding and government policies, despite the deployment of 70,000 police officers and gendarmes to prevent a repeat of last weekend’s widespread unrest.
The French Interior Ministry estimated that approximately 410,000 people participated in demonstrations nationwide, including 110,000 in Paris. Labor unions disputed the government’s figures, claiming that nearly 800,000 people joined protests across the country.
According to Reuters, demonstrations remained largely peaceful for much of the day before confrontations intensified in Paris and Marseille as evening approached.
In Paris, riot police fired tear gas and deployed water cannons after approximately 500 hooded individuals began throwing stones and other objects at officers near the end of a demonstration.
The march had been confined to the southeastern outskirts of the capital after authorities changed its approved route to prevent protesters from entering central neighborhoods damaged during previous unrest.
Police originally approved a route between Bastille and Nation squares but subsequently redirected the demonstration between Porte d’Italie and Porte de Vincennes.
Union leaders condemned the last-minute restrictions, arguing that they interfered with the right to demonstrate and increased the possibility of confrontations.
Clashes also occurred in Marseille, where groups of protesters erected barricades using metal sheets, set fire to garbage bins and threw rocks and bottles at riot police.
According to Euronews, confrontations were reported in Lyon, Lille, Montpellier, Nantes and Toulouse as security forces attempted to disperse gatherings and prevent property damage.
In Lyon, police used tear gas against approximately 150 demonstrators who attempted to block a road near the city center, where authorities had imposed restrictions on public demonstrations.
“The police are really mobile. They come and disperse marches before they even form,” a 21-year-old student told Agence France-Presse.
Additional confrontations occurred in Bordeaux, Grenoble, Clermont-Ferrand and Nice, although the overall scale of violence was less extensive than during the previous weekend.
The demonstrations are part of a protest movement that began in September with complaints from high school students about inadequate staffing, deteriorating school facilities and limited educational resources.
The movement subsequently expanded to include labor unions, left-wing political organizations, workers and other groups demanding higher wages, increased pensions, greater public spending and measures to address rising living costs.
Some conservative commentators have characterized elements of the demonstrations as a “Green-Red” alliance, referring to cooperation among radical-left and Islamist political activists. However, the broader movement includes numerous student, labor and civic organizations, and the characterization does not describe all participants.
The Associated Press reported that Saturday’s demonstrations presented another challenge to Macron’s government following widespread violence during protests on Oct. 17.
That unrest resulted in damaged businesses, burned vehicles, looting and attacks on public buildings, prompting the government to substantially increase security measures.
Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez announced that approximately 70,000 police officers and gendarmes would be deployed nationwide, supported by armored vehicles, helicopters, drones and specialized intervention teams.
French authorities also positioned soldiers near important landmarks and public buildings to free additional police personnel for crowd-control operations.
According to Agence France-Presse, Nuñez warned that online messages encouraging violence and looting had circulated ahead of Saturday’s demonstrations.
The government pledged to distinguish peaceful protesters from individuals engaging in criminal activity while responding forcefully to vandalism and attacks against police.
Authorities reported approximately 135 arrests nationwide by early afternoon, with additional detentions occurring as demonstrations continued.
In Paris, prosecutors said 64 people had been arrested in connection with Saturday’s march, including six minors. Forty individuals were placed in police custody, with many of the cases involving suspected weapons offenses or preparation for violence and property destruction.
The security operation also disrupted commercial and cultural activities.
Businesses across central Paris boarded up storefronts, while several major museums, including the Louvre, Musée d’Orsay, Picasso Museum and Grand Palais, closed as a precaution.
Organizers of the Art Basel contemporary art fair canceled weekend programming because of concerns about potential unrest.
According to the Los Angeles Times, approximately 17,000 people demonstrated in Marseille, according to police, while union organizers placed participation at 100,000.
In Toulouse, authorities reported approximately 26,500 participants.
The conflicting estimates underscore disagreements between the government and protest organizers over the size of the demonstrations.
France’s economic conditions have contributed to public dissatisfaction, with inflation reaching approximately 3.1% and energy prices increasing more than 21% over the preceding year.
Protesters have also criticized unemployment, poverty and what they describe as insufficient public investment in education and social services.
The demonstrations come as France prepares for its 2027 presidential election, when Macron will be constitutionally prohibited from seeking a third consecutive term.
Political divisions intensified Saturday as Marine Le Pen’s National Rally held a party congress in Orléans, where thousands of counterdemonstrators gathered to oppose the party.
Police imposed additional security restrictions around the event to prevent confrontations between rival political groups.
Meanwhile, left-wing political leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon and other opposition figures have supported the broader protest movement while criticizing the government’s handling of public demonstrations.
National Rally officials have emphasized the violence associated with some protests, calling for stronger measures to restore public order.
The government’s response has also drawn criticism from civil liberties advocates and labor organizations concerned about restrictions on peaceful assembly.
Although Saturday’s demonstrations included violent confrontations in multiple cities, independent reporting indicated that most participants marched peacefully and that the police deployment prevented destruction on the scale witnessed the previous weekend.
With no immediate resolution to disputes over public spending, wages and education policies, protest organizers have indicated that demonstrations could continue.
The latest unrest highlights the growing political and social tensions facing Macron’s administration as it attempts to address public dissatisfaction while preventing further violence in France’s major cities.
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