Almost 1,000 arrested in France as mass protests turn violent
Police in France detained nearly 1,000 people on Saturday during protests over the cost of living and poor school conditions. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said the figure would rise.
France saw a second weekend of mass protests on Saturday, 24 October, over the cost of living and poor conditions in schools, with clashes between demonstrators and police in several cities. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said late in the day that nearly 1,000 people had been arrested and that the number would grow. The unrest comes six months before France's presidential election.
Security measures
To avoid a repeat of last weekend's chaos, authorities deployed about 70,000 police officers and imposed restrictions in several cities. President Emmanuel Macron had decreed this week that only demonstrations organised by recognised trade unions would be allowed. Hundreds of people have been jailed for vandalism, arson and looting after fast-track court hearings in recent days.
Clashes in the cities
In Paris, clashes broke out at the end of a peaceful march from Porte d'Italie towards Porte de Vincennes. Some protesters built makeshift barricades and threw projectiles at officers, while police baton-charged masked youths who were smashing the windows of a car dealership. Nuñez said several thousand radical activists had gathered at the rear of the march, including around 500 people identified as rioters.
In Marseille, bins were set on fire and streets blocked with metal sheets. In Bordeaux, protesters in dark clothing and face coverings were seen taking boards off a building to make a barricade. In Lyon, police fired tear gas to disperse a crowd gathered in an area the local prefecture had declared off-limits. Nuñez also mentioned two people seriously injured, in Toulouse and Clermont-Ferrand.
In Orléans, about 13,000 people joined a peaceful rally against the hard-right National Rally party.
Background and other countries
Around 550,000 people took part in last weekend's demonstrations against rising fuel prices and living costs, following weeks of student protests. More than 2,500 arrests followed, and over 2,000 shops and businesses were affected. France's Chambers of Commerce and Industry estimated the damage at hundreds of millions of euros. About 1,000 police officers were injured, and one demonstrator's hand was blown off by a police grenade, according to AFP. Overnight curfews were imposed in Paris and other cities.
Large protests also took place on Saturday in other European cities: police fired tear gas in Tirana, clashes were reported in Brussels, and in Milan a security operation involving hundreds of soldiers prevented protesters from gathering.
