Nearly 1,000 people have been arrested across France following fresh clashes between protesters and security forces during nationwide demonstrations against the rising cost of living.
The protests took place on Saturday in Paris and several other cities, including Marseille, Lyon, Bordeaux, Lille, Toulouse, Montpellier and Nantes, prompting police to deploy tear gas and other crowd-control measures to disperse demonstrators.
French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said officers faced what he described as an “extremely elevated level of violence” from individuals he identified as black-clad “ultra-left” extremists. He said the authorities’ response was more effective than during the previous weekend’s unrest.
Two people sustained serious injuries during Saturday’s demonstrations, according to Nunez. One was a man in Toulouse who was reportedly left with several fingers blown off, while the second person was injured in Clermont-Ferrand. The minister did not provide further details about the incidents.
Authorities deployed about 70,000 security personnel nationwide as the government sought to prevent a repeat of the violence recorded during the previous week’s protests. The earlier unrest resulted in damage to public buildings, looting at hundreds of shops and the arrest of 2,700 people.
Saturday’s demonstrations attracted between 410,000 and 800,000 participants nationwide, according to estimates from the authorities and the organising CGT trade union. In Paris, attendance at the main march was estimated at between 110,000 and 250,000.
Despite the security measures, anger remained widespread over the government’s handling of the protests. Critics have accused the authorities of restricting the right to demonstrate through bans, curfews and increased police operations.
In the French capital, the main march passed largely peacefully after authorities redirected it to the southeastern outskirts of the city. Several businesses had boarded up their windows against possible looting, while the Louvre and Musée d’Orsay museums closed for the day.
However, violence erupted after the demonstration as participants began to disperse. Nunez said the clashes lasted about two hours and involved approximately 500 people he described as rioters.
AFP journalists reported seeing police charge protesters several times and use tear gas and batons against some demonstrators.
One protester, identified only as David, said he was struck in the face by a baton during the police operation.
“The police started moving towards everyone, telling them to get down and back off. They were just taking people down, you know, beating protesters,” he told AFP.
In Nantes, western France, thousands of demonstrators reportedly broke through police lines to reach the city centre despite officers deploying tear gas and water cannon.
A 23-year-old protester in Rennes, identified as Emma, criticised the restrictions on demonstrations and what she described as repression of student protests. In Lille, another demonstrator, 47-year-old Delphine, said neither President Emmanuel Macron nor the weather would prevent her from participating.
Police in Lyon also used tear gas to disperse about 1,000 people gathered in the southern part of the city. A 20-year-old demonstrator identified as Silem warned that restrictions on protests could push the country towards authoritarian rule.
The unrest also involved clashes between rival political groups. Authorities reported that far-right activists gathered in Cannes and Montpellier seeking confrontations with people they described as ultra-left militants. Looting was also reported on the sidelines of demonstrations in Marseille and Grenoble.
The Yellow Vests movement, which organised disruptive demonstrations against Macron in 2018, called for another protest on October 31 under the slogan “the freedom to protest”. Left-wing presidential candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon, who joined the Paris march, predicted that the demonstrations would continue.
Political tensions were further heightened by a rally organised by Marine Le Pen’s National Rally party in Orléans to launch its campaign for the next presidential election. Thousands of counter-protesters also marched in the city, chanting anti-fascist slogans. Police estimated their number at 13,000, while organisers put attendance at twice that figure.
The demonstrations reflect growing public discontent over living costs, government policies and restrictions on public protests as France approaches another presidential election. Rising fuel prices have added to economic pressures following the outbreak of war in the Middle East in February, according to the supplied report.
Protests over different issues have also taken place in Italy, Belgium, Spain and Portugal, with inflation and education among the concerns reported. In Italy, authorities deployed 500 troops to Milan following street violence.
