French police arrested 135 people nationwide on Saturday as protesters marched across the country under tight security, a week after looting and clashes marred demonstrations over school funding and the cost of living.1,3,5
Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said police had seized metal balls, lead pellets, fireworks, slingshots and a katana, and that "there has been no major incident." He announced on Friday that 70,000 police officers would be deployed, 10,000 more than last weekend. Authorities said they were determined to prevent another weekend of looting, burned cars and attacks on public buildings.1,3,5
At a press briefing at midday, Nuñez said, "We counted 35,000 people in the public space; there were 60,000 on Oct. 17." The protests followed numerous scenes of looting and clashes between police and protesters on the sidelines of peaceful marches over the cost of living and school conditions. Dozens of protesters had marched in Paris on Thursday despite bans on demonstrations ordered in multiple French cities.3,4
In Paris, authorities restricted the main march to the southeastern edge of the capital, away from the city centre. The authorised route was changed late on Friday to redirect protesters away from the centre, in an attempt to protect businesses looted last weekend. Police said in a social media statement, accompanied by aerial footage, that all was "calm" in the streets.1,3
Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the leader of France Unbowed, joined the march in Paris. On X, he wrote of a "Total victory for the social movement" and said police efforts to quash protests were a "total failure." Politico reported that Mélenchon said the route change was aimed at discouraging protesters and sowing confusion among them. "Everything is made to trigger an explosion," Mélenchon said as he marched, adding that Macron "will realize that this is going to happen every week."1,3
Al Jazeera's reporter in Paris described a calmer scene than the previous weekend, with fewer police officers visible at the march and protesters appearing cheerful. One banner read "This is the end of the Macronian monarchy." "This is a tactic by the government to try to run the movement out of steam," said Emma, a protester.1
In Lyon, police fired tear gas to disperse some 150 people protesting in an area banned to all demonstrations, according to AFP. The news agency said police moved in as demonstrators tried to block a road in the southeastern city.1,3
The government has imposed local curfews and banned public demonstrations in several cities, including Lyon and parts of Nice and Lille. Macron also instructed local authorities to ban protests on Saturday except those organised by unions. Amnesty International called the bans "serious restrictions of the right to protest" and warned against a "slide toward authoritarian practices." The reports did not include a government response to Amnesty's criticism.3
Speaking during a visit to the National Police Academy in Vincennes, Nuñez told police that "Today's key words will be mobility, responsiveness and adaptability, so we can really act against high-risk groups… We must be absolutely uncompromising and hyper, hyper, hyper-responsive." Nuñez had been heavily criticized for his handling of last Saturday's protests and accused of underestimating both the number of protesters and the potential for violent incidents. He said on social media, "Our forces are mobilized, our setup is in place. We are ready."3,5
In Orléans, Marine Le Pen's National Rally is holding its party congress, marking the start of its presidential campaign. The Interior Ministry put the number of counterprotesters at 11,000, while organisers said 26,000 took part. Authorities said more than 10,000 people took part in an authorised anti-far-right march. A banned protest is also expected on Sunday, when Le Pen is set to formally launch her presidential bid. Polls show Le Pen as the frontrunner in next year's presidential election. The reports did not include comment from Le Pen or the National Rally.1,3,5
Ryad Rani, president of the Union Syndicale Lycéenne, a high school students' union, said, "We are the country of democracy, the country of human rights, and today this government is trampling on them. And that is very serious." Manon Aubry, an MEP from Mélenchon's Unbowed party, wrote on social media: "Power prefers to barricade itself behind armored vehicles rather than listen to the legitimate demands of citizens." The party had supported the school protests in the run-up to last weekend's riots but sought to distance itself from the violence.3
Also on Friday, a deadly drive-by shooting in Trappes is being investigated by prosecutors as a terrorist hate crime. According to local authorities, a 12-year-old girl was among those injured. After visiting the scene on Friday evening, Macron said, "This is a turning point because it is the first time there has been a terrorist act planned to kill our fellow citizens, our children, because of their skin color or the religion attributed to them." His remarks drew criticism from several leading political figures, who objected to his description of it as the first terrorist act motivated by a person's skin color or religion.3
The Yellow Vest movement, one of the key groups behind recent protests against the high cost of living, called on Saturday for new demonstrations on October 31. Organisers said in Paris that they wanted fresh rallies, a sit-in outside parliament and protests outside city halls nationwide, against what the movement called the "authoritarian drift" of President Emmanuel Macron.5,3
