Politics1 min read

Police clash with masked rioters after largely peaceful protests across France

By · Via The Guardian · Published by Everything Blog

In short

The interior ministry recorded 320,000 participants across France, showing a drop in total turnout compared to the 410,000 who marched the previous weekend. While daytime gatherings remained peaceful, evening clashes in Paris, Lyon, Marseille, and Toulouse saw security forces targeted with paving stones, stun grenades deployed, and water cannon used against unauthorized crowds. The disturbances are part of a coordinated mobilization that includes upcoming student blockades and a broader trade union rally set for November 5. Similar economic unrest also broke out across Germany, where police used pepper spray and water cannon against youth-led crowds in cities like Frankfurt and Berlin.

Key points

  • French labor unions and student groups plan to prolong their protest campaign with blocka…: French labor unions and student groups plan to prolong their protest campaign with blockades and a major rally on November 5.
  • Nationwide turnout in France dipped to 320,000 marchers from the 410,000 who attended the…: Nationwide turnout in France dipped to 320,000 marchers from the 410,000 who attended the prior weekend's demonstrations.
  • Rising living expenses and declining public services are fueling cross-border civil unres…: Rising living expenses and declining public services are fueling cross-border civil unrest that has also put authorities in Italy and Spain on alert.

Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1

Clashes have erupted in Paris, Marseille and other cities after tens of thousands of demonstrators, some in Halloween fancy dress, marched across France in a third wave of protests over the cost of living and deteriorating public services.

About 320,000 people – down from an estimated 410,000 last weekend – took part in rallies around the country, the interior ministry said, including 70,000 in Paris who marched along boulevards on the south-eastern outskirts, avoiding the city centre.

As evening approached and the largely peaceful demonstrations came to an end, police in several cities fired teargas and stun grenades to disperse crowds joined – as on the previous Saturday – by groups of masked rioters.

France’s interior minister, Laurent Nuñez, said earlier this week 70,000 police and gendarmes, including elite units, would be deployed in an effort to quell violence on the protests’ sidelines, warning that Saturday looked like “a very high risk” day.

The Paris protesters set off peacefully from the Porte de Bagnolet near the ring road, holding placards with slogans including “No need for teargas to make our…

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