France records 980 arrests after 410,000 march against cost of living
Interior Ministry figures show nearly 1,000 detainees following evening clashes that followed largely peaceful daytime demonstrations in major cities.
By Ivan Dvorak ·
French authorities arrested 980 people on Saturday as part of a second wave of nationwide protests. The Interior Ministry reported the figure late in the day, noting that the count would likely increase. The demonstrations focused on rising living costs and deteriorating conditions in schools.
The Interior Ministry estimated that 410,000 people participated in the marches. Trade unions calculated the turnout at approximately 800,000. To manage the crowds, roughly 70,000 police officers were deployed across the country. Several cities imposed restrictions to prevent a repeat of the disorder seen during the previous weekend's demonstrations.
Daytime events remained largely peaceful, but tensions escalated in the evening. Police in Paris used tear gas and water cannons to disperse crowds. In Marseille, protesters set fire to barricades. In Bordeaux, onlookers witnessed individuals removing boards from a shop. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez stated that several thousand radical activists gathered at the rear of the march, including about 500 identified rioters.
In Lyon, police fired tear gas to clear a crowd that had assembled in an area declared off-limits by the local prefecture. One protester, who identified the group as mostly students, said there were around 150 people in the area. Visibility in the street was poor due to the gas. Nuñez reported that two people suffered serious injuries, one in Toulouse and the other in Clermont-Ferrand.
President Emmanuel Macron had previously decreed that only demonstrations organized by recognized trade unions would be permitted. Fast-track court hearings have resulted in hundreds of arrests for vandalism, arson, and looting in recent days. The government aimed to avoid the widespread rioting and looting that occurred a week earlier, when hundreds of businesses were damaged.
The unrest followed a similar protest wave last weekend that drew about 550,000 participants. That event resulted in more than 2,500 arrests and an estimated hundreds of millions of euros in damage to over 2,000 shops. Approximately 1,000 police officers were injured during the previous week's clashes. With presidential elections six months away, political contenders have criticized Macron's handling of the situation.
