French Cost of Living Protests: 980 Detained After Evening Clashes

French authorities detained 980 people on Saturday as nationwide protests against the cost of living and school conditions ended in violent clashes in several major cities.

The interior ministry estimated that 410,000 people participated in the demonstrations, a figure that trade unions disputed by claiming the turnout reached 800,000. To prevent a repeat of the previous weekend's disorder, the government deployed approximately 70,000 police officers and imposed movement restrictions in key urban areas.

Daytime marches remained largely peaceful, but tensions escalated in the evening. In Paris, fighting broke out near Porte de Vincennes after a march from Porte d'Italie. Police used tear gas and water cannon to disperse crowds. An elite unit normally assigned to counter-terrorism operations joined the effort. Protesters constructed makeshift barricades and threw objects at officers, who charged with batons toward masked youths smashing windows at a car dealership.

Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez stated that several thousand radical activists gathered at the rear of the march, including about 500 identified rioters. He confirmed that two people were seriously injured, one in Toulouse and one in Clermont-Ferrand. Nuñez noted that the arrest count would continue to rise.

Violence also spread to other regions. In Marseille, protesters set fire to barricades and used metal sheets to block streets. In Bordeaux, individuals were seen removing boards from a shop. In Lyon, police fired tear gas at a crowd in an area declared off-limits by the local prefecture. One student protester in Lyon estimated that 150 people were present in the affected area.

President Emmanuel Macron had restricted demonstrations to those organized by recognized trade unions earlier in the week. This followed fast-track court hearings that jailed hundreds of individuals for vandalism, arson, and looting. The government aimed to avoid the chaos of last Saturday, when 2,500 arrests and damage to over 2,000 businesses marked one of the worst episodes of disorder in modern French history.

Protesters expressed frustration with the government. Zelie, a 26-year-old woman in Paris, said people were suffering and that the situation had become too much. Two masked teenagers described their generation as abandoned by officials. One teenager admitted looting was not ideal but blamed poverty and police violence for the unrest, stating the protests would continue until demands were met. Separately, 13,000 people rallied peacefully in Orléans against the National Rally party.

The unrest extended beyond France, with riot police firing tear gas at demonstrators in Tirana, Albania, and clashes reported in Brussels. In Milan, hundreds of soldiers and police blocked protesters from gathering to prevent a repeat of the previous week's violence. The next round of demonstrations is not yet scheduled, but presidential elections are scheduled for six months from now.