Hundreds of thousands of people marched across France on Saturday over living costs and school funding, challenging the government of President Emmanuel Macron in the final months of his presidency, as clashes with police in Paris and other cities were accompanied by arrests.3,5,6
Paris police estimated turnout in the capital at 110,000, with demonstrators mobilizing despite restrictions that confined the march to the city's southeastern edge. Nationwide, the New York Post put the government's estimate at 410,000 people and the labor unions' estimate at 800,000, while France 24 said more than 400,000 people took to the streets. The unrest is testing Macron's authority before voters choose his successor in May, and the far-right National Rally has accused his government of failing to protect the public and has urged people to channel their anger into votes for it.3,5,6
The Paris march was largely peaceful until its end point at Porte de Vincennes, where some demonstrators threw bottles and rocks at police. The officers then charged at the crowd, fired tear gas and used water cannons. The clashes lasted about an hour, and NBC News said it witnessed no looting. The New York Post reported that two people were injured.3,5
Police also used tear gas in Lyon, Clermont-Ferrand and Strasbourg and water cannons in Nice and Nantes, French media reported. In Marseille, officers fired tear gas during clashes with several dozen people near the march's end point. Attendance figures there differed sharply, with police putting it at 17,000 and the CGT union estimating 100,000. In Toulouse, authorities counted 26,500 people.3
Counts of arrests also varied. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said nearly 1,000 people had been arrested during some 800 demonstrations across France, adding, "this number will increase." France 24 reported that police said more than 1,300 people had been arrested nationwide as violence broke out on the sidelines of demonstrations. Breitbart put the arrests at more than 1,300 and the number of injured police officers at 53.5,6,7
The Paris figures also differ. The Paris prosecutor's office said 64 people were arrested in connection with Saturday's demonstration and 40 were placed in police custody, including six minors, with most arrests concerning suspected weapons offenses or participation in a group preparing violence or property damage. The New York Post reported that at least 137 people were arrested in Paris, according to Nuñez, and that authorities seized illegal weapons, metal projectiles and a katana sword.3,5
Nuñez had announced a nationwide deployment of up to 70,000 officers, backed by helicopters, armored vehicles and water cannons, and the New York Post said roughly 70,000 officers and gendarmerie were deployed. "We will not tolerate any violence or any disturbance of public order," Nuñez warned.3,5
Police changed the Paris route on Friday. On Saturday morning they cleared Place de la Bastille, where protesters had originally been expected to gather, and used a megaphone to tell people to leave or face a 135-euro ($150) fine. Authorities had also banned rallies in Lyon, Nice and Montpellier and other cities. Trade unions have criticized the bans, calling them violations of freedom of expression, which is protected by the constitution.3
The New York Post reported that Nuñez accused far-left activists and opportunist criminal gangs of abusing the movement to wreak havoc, saying, "We have to be ultra, ultra responsive." The Post also reported that demonstrators shouted, "Down with the state, the police and the fascists!"5
The protests began last month with a protest over staff shortages at one high school southeast of Paris and have grown into a national movement. Students are demanding better schools, and workers are seeking higher wages and pensions. Energy prices in France were 21.3% higher in September than a year earlier, helping drive overall inflation to 3.1%, according to the national statistics agency, INSEE.3
Camille Chesnier, 27, said she had been unable to find work despite having an engineering degree and a master's degree. "There are enormous numbers of people in the same situation as me but who aren't privileged and who find themselves living on the streets and in squats, and frankly, it's very tough," she said. Domitille, 25, who was protesting for the first time, said, "We are tired of the government because the cost of living is higher."3
Soumaya Abed, a 58-year-old nurse, said she had been joining protests for more than 30 years but had never seen a march start at Porte d'Italie. "They are using what happened last week as an excuse to quiet protesters," she said. "But it won't stop the movement. It won't stop students from demanding better conditions in schools."3
Macron met high school representatives on Friday. They said he had promised to overhaul university admissions, but they called for protests to continue until concrete measures are announced. Thousands also marched in Orléans, south of Paris, in a separate peaceful protest against the far right, as Marine Le Pen's National Rally held a two-day congress in the city.3
A student studying cinema at Paris' Sorbonne University said he joined the protests because of a police crackdown on demonstrations at Sorbonne Nouvelle University. "We are mostly students," he said, referring to the protesters. "We're not here to break things. We're not here to mess with the cops or anyone. We're just here to protest."3
