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Clashes Erupt in France During Cost of Living Protests
· Confirmed
In Short: Hundreds of thousands protested in France on Saturday, clashing with police and leading to hundreds of arrests.
Hundreds of thousands of people, including 70,000 in Paris, took to the streets on Saturday to protest soaring living costs and police violence. The demonstrations, which saw clashes between protesters and security forces, marked the third weekend of protests in France.
In Paris, after a march in bright sunshine, clashes broke out as the procession reached its final destination. Protesters threw projectiles at security forces, and some were dressed in Halloween costumes, including clowns and witches.
According to figures released by France’s Interior Ministry, approximately 410,000 people participated in demonstrations nationwide, although trade unions put the figure at more than twice that number. The interior ministry reported that 520 people were arrested across the country as of 1900 GMT, with police in Paris detaining a 'record figure' of 855 people.
President Emmanuel Macron appealed for calm on Sunday, a day after France suffered one of its worst days of unrest in years. He said there was 'no room for violence' and blamed the unrest on the 'far-left' and criminals, just months before a presidential election next year.
Some demonstrators expressed frustration with the government's handling of protests. Alice Hien, a video game developer, said, 'The fact that demonstrations are being pushed outside city centres, and that so many protests are being banned, is really an attack on freedom.'
Background
Hundreds of thousands protested in France on Saturday, demanding better education and lower living costs.
What's confirmed
- Authorities said that some 320,000 people rallied across France, including 70,000 in Paris.
- "We are fully prepared for those looking for confrontation tonight," he warned.
- "The fact that demonstrations are being pushed outside city centres, and that so many protests are being banned, is really an attack on freedom," said one demonstrator, Alice Hien, a video game developer.
- Nunez pointed to an "extraordinary" level of violence from some protesters, blaming far-left extremist groups for attacks on security forces.
- After a march on the outskirts of Paris in bright sunshine, clashes broke out between police and some demonstrators as the procession reached its final destination.
- "Dressed up as an angry citizen for Halloween."
- Hundreds of thousands of people, 320,000 according to the interior ministry, some dressed as clowns and witches for Halloween, took to the streets of Paris and other cities across France on Saturday, October 31, to demonstrate against soaring costs of living and police violence.
- President Emmanuel Macron said there was "no room for violence" after riots broke out in several cities, with protesters blocked from marching on government buildings in Paris.
What's still developing
- Turnout stood at 320,000 nationwide, the interior ministry said, lower than the 410,000 seen the previous Saturday and 550,000 on October 17, when riots erupted across the country.
- At a Paris high school where students barricaded an entrance, 18-year-old Salama Gargouri said protesters want to target "overloaded schedules, the system, the teachers, people who don't listen to us, the university application process."