Paris: Nearly 1,000 people were arrested across France on Saturday during protests over the rising cost of living, Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said. He said police faced “an extremely elevated level of violence” from black-clad extremists, AFP reported.
Nuñez said most of the marches were peaceful, but “ultra-left” groups threw objects and fired fireworks at police, leading to clashes in several cities.
Two people were seriously injured. In Toulouse, a 20-year-old man reportedly lost fingers in an explosion. Another person was injured in Clermont-Ferrand. The minister did not give more details.
The number of arrests was much higher than the 385 recorded at the same time during protests a week earlier. Last week’s demonstrations turned violent, with hundreds of shops looted. About 2,700 people were eventually arrested.
Nuñez said some shops were damaged or looted on Saturday, but the damage was “far smaller” than last week. He said police had protected shopping centres better this time.
France deployed up to 70,000 police officers, along with helicopters, armoured vehicles and water cannons. Police also carried out more checks before the protests and acted faster when trouble began.
Trouble In Paris
The main protest in Paris was mostly peaceful. Tens of thousands of people marched from Porte d’Italie in the southeast of the city, led by trade unions. Many carried flags and placards.
Clashes broke out after the march ended. Nuñez said “several thousand radical activists gathered at the rear of the march, including around 500 individuals identified as rioters.” The violence in Paris lasted about two hours.
He said police in Cannes and Montpellier saw far-right activists for the first time. Some tried to fight with “ultra-left militants,” while others said they were there to protect shops.
Nuñez said that Saturday was more “positive” than last week. He said police would remain “on high alert” through the night and into Sunday.
Pressure On Macron
The protests are putting pressure on President Emmanuel Macron in the last months of his presidency. France will choose his successor in May. The far-right National Rally has accused his government of failing to protect people and has asked voters to support it in the election, the Associated Press reported.
The protests began last month over staff shortages at one high school southeast of Paris. They have since spread across the country. Students want better schools, while workers want higher wages and better pensions.
Public middle and high schools lost 15.4 million teaching hours in the 2024-25 school year because absent teachers were not replaced. This was 7.5 per cent of planned teaching time, according to Education Ministry figures.
Energy prices in France were 21.3 per cent higher in September than a year earlier. This helped push overall inflation to 3.1 per cent, according to the national statistics agency, INSEE.
Macron met high school representatives on Friday. They said he promised to change university admissions, but they want protests to continue until the government announces clear measures.
The “yellow vest” movement has called for another day of protests on October 31 to defend the right to demonstrate.