About 400 people were arrested across France as protests over living costs and school conditions brought clashes and fires on 17 October, Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said, according to AP.
Nuñez put nationwide participation at about 550,000 across 110 marches, while organisers, including trade unions and student groups, estimated 800,000. Many demonstrations remained peaceful, AP reported.
The mobilisation brought together students, workers and supporters of the Yellow Vest movement, combining demands for better public services with anger over household costs.
“There is a constitutional right to protest and to express oneself,” President Emmanuel Macron said on 16 October, according to AP. He also urged respect for people and property.
The demonstrations followed a month of student protests over educational conditions. Rising fuel prices and pressure on purchasing power helped draw a wider range of participants into the streets, Asharq Al-Awsat reported.
In Paris, confrontations spread from Place de la République towards central shopping areas. Police used tear gas and water cannon, while fires and damage to businesses disrupted parts of the capital.
Authorities had restricted gatherings around the presidential palace, government offices and the Champs-Elysées. Some shops reinforced their windows or closed before demonstrators arrived, according to Asharq Al-Awsat.
The newspaper reported damage and looting at a supermarket and a fast-food restaurant on Boulevard de Sébastopol. Other demonstrations in Paris proceeded peacefully.
Paris Mayor Emmanuel Grégoire condemned the destruction while saying most participants wanted to demonstrate peacefully, Asharq Al-Awsat reported. He said the damage diverted attention from students’ demands and warned against violence towards demonstrators.
In Marseille, protesters briefly entered the city hall lobby, damaging property before police removed them, EFE reported. Shops and a municipal police station were also damaged.
Mayor Benoît Payan condemned the intrusion and called for stronger police protection. Additional riot police were sent to the city, according to EFE.
In Lyon, a tourist office at Place Bellecour was vandalised and set on fire. Firefighters struggled to reach the building as confrontations continued nearby, EFE reported.
The Interior Ministry blamed masked groups for attacks on officers, attempted looting and damage to public buildings, according to Asharq Al-Awsat. The newspaper also reported peaceful marches in several other cities.
The government’s response has included renewed authorisation for stun grenades during serious disturbances. Their use during earlier student protests had already drawn criticism.
France’s police watchdog is investigating at least two dozen allegations of police violence, Reuters reported. Authorities have faced scrutiny over injuries sustained during recent demonstrations.
The Yellow Vest movement began in 2018 over fuel taxes before widening into protests over inequality and living costs. Veterans of that movement joined the latest mobilisation, alongside students seeking more teachers and improved school facilities, Reuters reported.
