France arrests nearly 1,000 as protesters fill the streets again

Nearly 1,000 people were arrested across France on October 24, Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said, after mass demonstrations over living costs and schools were followed by clashes. ^{[1] [5]}

The Interior Ministry estimated that 410,000 people took part nationwide, including 110,000 in Paris. The CGT trade union put participation at about 800,000 across France and 250,000 in the capital. Nuñez said the provisional arrest count would rise. ^{[1] [2]}

The government deployed 70,000 police officers and gendarmes, members of France's military-status police force. In Paris, a march that began peacefully ended with some masked protesters throwing projectiles and fireworks near its endpoint, while police used tear gas and water cannon to disperse the crowd. ^{[2] [3] [5]}

The movement began with student protests in September over school conditions and staffing, then widened to embrace fuel prices, household costs and declining public services. Its demands now stretch from repairing classrooms to increasing student grants, bringing education grievances and pressure on household budgets into the same marches. ^{[1] [2]}

President Emmanuel Macron met high-school representatives on Friday. According to the students, he promised to overhaul university admissions, but they said they wanted concrete measures and called for demonstrations to continue. ^[2]

Fewer marchers, another large arrest count

The ministry's nationwide attendance estimate was 140,000 below its figure of 550,000 for the previous weekend, a decline of about a quarter. The CGT's much higher count leaves the size of Saturday's mobilisation disputed, but the official figures do not show a growing crowd. ^{[1] [2]}

The disagreement was especially large in Paris, where the union's estimate was more than twice the ministry's. Both counts nevertheless placed more than 100,000 demonstrators in the capital, making it a major centre of a mobilisation that extended across France. ^{[1] [2]}

The previous weekend's demonstrations were followed by widespread disorder and more than 2,500 arrests, according to the BBC. Saturday's provisional total was lower, though still close to 1,000 in a single day. Neither an arrest nor an arrest total establishes guilt. ^{[1] [2]}

Nuñez said Saturday's police deployment had helped prevent a repeat of the previous weekend's widespread looting and shop damage. The Daily Inference reported on October 18 that a retail trade body estimated about 1,500 shops had been hit during that unrest. ^{[2] [5]}

Disorder nevertheless extended beyond Paris. Clashes, fires or police use of tear gas and water cannon were reported in Marseille, Lyon, Bordeaux, Nantes and Nice. In Toulouse, local authorities reported a serious hand injury during clashes, with the circumstances still unknown. ^{[1] [2] [3] [5]}

The final arrest and injury totals, the number of people charged or released, and the cause of the Toulouse injury are not yet known. ^{[1] [2] [5]}

Demands reach beyond university admissions

Students are seeking more higher-education places, more teachers, repairs to schools and universities, increased grants and a freeze on rents in public student housing. Those are separate demands requiring decisions on staffing, buildings, access and support for students. A change to admissions would address only part of their programme. ^{[1] [2]}

The housing and grant demands also show how closely the education dispute is tied to living costs. Students are asking both for changes inside their institutions and for help meeting the costs of attending them. More places would expand access, while grants and a rent freeze would address what students must pay once enrolled. ^{[1] [2]}

The wider movement also includes complaints about rising living costs, fuel prices and deteriorating public services. That breadth gives the government several problems to answer at once, even if it can reduce disorder on the streets. ^{[1] [2]}

A Paris demonstrator speaking to the BBC said people were frustrated and had been suffering since Macron took office. A masked teenage protester said demonstrations would end when protesters received a response to their demands. Their accounts point to the same immediate obstacle facing the government: protesters are asking for results, rather than another meeting. ^[1]

Authorities have restricted or banned some demonstrations, while Macron has called for only marches organised by recognised trade unions to be permitted. Protesters and left-wing figures say restrictions and the police response risk suppressing lawful dissent. ^{[1] [2] [3]}

That proposed limit would make an organiser's status a condition for permission to march. The movement that began with students now includes trade unions and other demonstrators, leaving the government's approach to authorising protests part of the dispute itself. ^{[1] [2]}

France's presidential election is due in 2027. The far-right National Rally has blamed Macron's government for failing to protect the public, while far-left leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon has backed demonstrators and criticised policing. The government faces political attacks over both public safety and its treatment of the protests. ^{[1] [2] [3]}

Demonstrations elsewhere in Europe

Unrest was also reported beyond France. In Barcelona, more than 100 people were arrested after a student protest turned violent, according to the BBC. Police used tear gas against anti-government demonstrators in Tirana, Albania's capital. ^[1]

Clashes were reported in Brussels, while a security operation in Milan prevented protesters from gathering. Demonstrations also took place in several other Italian cities. ^{[1] [3] [4]}