Hundreds of thousands of demonstrators marched across France on Saturday for a third straight weekend of nationwide unrest over education conditions and the rising cost of living, leading to fresh clashes with security forces in several major cities.
France’s Ministry of the Interior estimated that 320,000 people took part across the country, including 70,000 in Paris. Organizers offered significantly higher estimates, with a coalition of high school and university student unions reporting that almost 500,000 people protested nationwide, including 200,000 in the capital, according to Al Jazeera.
Tear gas and barricades in Paris
In Paris, the march began peacefully as crowds moved behind a frontline of students holding hands, ABC News reported. The atmosphere deteriorated near the conclusion of the march along the capital’s perimeter. Demonstrators set trash bins and street furniture ablaze, sending thick plumes of smoke over neighborhood streets. AFP reported that masked individuals dressed in black used hammers to dislodge paving stones to throw at officers, and at least one incendiary device was hurled toward security lines.
Riot police deployed volleys of tear gas and launched baton charges to clear crowds, while medics treated and evacuated injured marchers, according to Al Jazeera. The Interior Ministry said authorities had arrested at least 290 people nationwide by Saturday afternoon.
The French government mobilized roughly 70,000 police officers and gendarmes throughout the country to manage the rallies. French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez warned publicly of a very high risk of unrest, particularly under the cover of darkness on Halloween night. Following a legal challenge, authorities moved the authorized Paris route away from central monuments and retail corridors to outer boulevards between Porte de Bagnolet and Porte de Charenton. Officials also barred the public from entering Place de la Republique and Les Halles overnight, while unaccompanied minors faced a 9 p.m. curfew around the Champs-Elysees.
Roots of the youth movement
The unrest began in mid-September at a high school in the Paris suburb of Créteil before spreading rapidly across the country, The New York Times reported. Students initially walked out over crumbling buildings, overcrowded classrooms, staffing shortages and an admissions system they view as biased against low-income applicants. Education Minister Édouard Geffray previously acknowledged that some student demands were legitimate while condemning violent tactics, including fireworks aimed at school administrators.
The protests gradually expanded over the course of October to include major labor organizations such as the CGT, climate groups and parents frustrated by consumer costs and President Emmanuel Macron’s administration. Large turnouts on Oct. 17 resulted in extensive damage across France, including looted stores in Paris and a major fire that brought down the spire of the 19th-century City Hall in Limoges, The New York Times reported.
Government officials maintain they are addressing public grievances. Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu met with student union leaders in recent days to discuss potential financial relief, Al Jazeera reported, but student participants said trust in state leadership has severely deteriorated.
Protests spill beyond French borders
Similar youth demonstrations emerged across Europe on Saturday. In Germany, a student-led initiative mobilized crowds in multiple cities to protest educational budget reductions, housing costs and potential military conscription. Police in Cologne used water cannons against demonstrators, while an estimated 1,500 extra officers deployed to Berlin to safeguard shopping districts, ABC News reported.
Law enforcement agencies in Italy and Spain also remained on elevated alert following disturbances in previous days. Catalan police prepared emergency measures in Barcelona after clashes on Oct. 24 led to around 130 arrests, mostly involving minors, while Dutch police in The Hague monitored downtown commercial centers amid widespread calls for youth actions on social media.
French authorities have not yet announced whether security restrictions and curfews will remain in force beyond the weekend as officials monitor nighttime developments.
