France sees another weekend of mass protests, with nearly 1,000 detained

France Mobilizes Major Security Operation as Protests Draw Hundreds of Thousands

Earthguardiansonline.com – France saw another large day of demonstrations on Saturday, with more than 410,000 people taking part nationwide as anger over education funding, youth employment prospects and rising living costs continued to fuel public protests.

Paris accounted for about 110,000 demonstrators, matching the scale of the previous weekend’s turnout in the capital. While many marches remained calm, confrontations and scattered property damage were reported in several cities as authorities deployed an extensive security presence across the country.

Nearly 1,000 detained nationwide

Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said almost 1,000 people were detained during Saturday’s protests, a substantial increase from the 385 detentions recorded a week earlier. He stressed that the main march in Paris, like most demonstrations elsewhere, unfolded without major disorder.

“In Paris, we had a major demonstration that took place peacefully, like most protest marches across the entire country,” Nuñez told reporters.

Authorities limited protesters’ ability to form unapproved moving demonstrations or travel toward central urban areas. Nuñez said isolated damage and looting affected a limited number of businesses in some locations, but the scale was lower than during the unrest the previous weekend.

“They were prevented from staging unauthorized roving protests or heading toward city centers.”

He also said public buildings, including town halls and police stations, had not faced the targeted attacks seen during earlier demonstrations. Even so, Nuñez described a difficult environment for police and other security personnel.

“Extremely high level of violence,” Nuñez added, “with projectiles constantly being thrown and mortar fireworks fired.”

Security forces were expected to remain on duty late into the evening in an effort to prevent further looting and protect commercial areas.

Police use tear gas and water cannon in Paris

Some 70,000 police officers were mobilized nationally for the second major weekend of protests. The operation included specialized tactical teams, helicopters, armored vehicles, police dogs and water cannons.

In Paris, a largely peaceful march ended at Porte de Vincennes after drawing an estimated 110,000 participants. There, several thousand people later confronted police. Officers used tear gas and a water cannon to keep the crowd from advancing.

The heavy security deployment reflected authorities’ concern after more than half a million people had marched across France the previous Saturday. For residents and businesses in areas near protest routes, the measures were intended to limit movement by groups seeking confrontation while allowing organized marches to proceed.

Disorder reported in Marseille, Bordeaux and Nice

In Marseille, France’s second-largest city, groups of protesters fired mortar-style fireworks toward police during mobile clashes in the streets. Looting was also reported in different parts of the city, including damage to a jewelry store and the pillaging of a supermarket.

In Bordeaux, on the Atlantic coast, police used tear gas in Place de la Bourse. Footage from the square showed masked individuals throwing objects toward officers as gas spread through the area.

Nice experienced a different form of violence, as dozens of far-right activists attacked people taking part in a peaceful protest, BFMTV said. The incidents underlined the challenge faced by authorities: most participants gathered peacefully, while smaller groups created flashpoints that required a rapid police response.

Strike warning adds pressure on Macron

The demonstrations have also created pressure for a political response from President Emmanuel Macron. Jean-Luc Mélenchon, leader of the far-left La France Insoumise party, said a nationwide industrial action could follow if protesters’ demands are not addressed.

“A general strike, called by the CGT, looms over the government for the 5th of November,” Mélenchon told BFMTV while joining Saturday’s Paris demonstration.

The warning points to a possible shift from weekend street mobilization toward wider workplace disruption. A general strike would raise the stakes for the government and could affect daily life more broadly, depending on participation across public services and other sectors.

Protests spread across Europe

France was not alone in facing anti-government demonstrations on Saturday. In Italy, businesses in Naples, Rome and Milan boarded up windows before planned protests, following looting during earlier unrest.

In Tirana, Albania’s capital, protesters set fire to dumpsters and threw stones and tear-gas canisters. In Brussels, students carried placards and blocked streets with barricades. Police used a water cannon there, Belgium’s public broadcaster VRT said.

The events across several European cities highlighted a broader weekend of political unrest, though the issues, participants and local circumstances varied from country to country. In France, the central question now is whether the government can respond to demands over public investment, employment opportunities and household costs before the protests escalate further.