While the French Ministry of the Interior announced that 410 thousand people participated in the demonstrations across the country, unions announced that this number was 800 thousand. Clashes between demonstrators and police occurred in many cities, primarily in the capital, Paris. Interior Minister Laurent Nunez reported that approximately one thousand people were detained and two people were seriously injured.
Protests that began in France against rising living costs, problems in the education system, and the government's economic policies continued into their second week. While the demonstrations held across the country yesterday were largely peaceful, clashes broke out between police and demonstrators in many cities, especially in Paris, Marseille, Bordeaux, and Lyon, in the evening hours.
Approximately 70 thousand police officers were deployed across the country to prevent a repeat of the looting and violence that occurred last week. Restrictions on demonstrations are being implemented in many cities, and President Emmanuel Macron had announced at the beginning of the week that only demonstrations organized by recognized unions would be permitted.
POLICE INTERVENED AGAINST DEMONSTRATORS IN PARIS WITH TEAR GAS AND WATER CANNONS
Clashes occurred between demonstrators and riot police following the march from Porte d'Italie to Porte de Vincennes in Paris.
Security forces intervened with tear gas and water cannons after some demonstrators built barricades and threw various objects at the police. After some masked individuals broke the windows of a car dealership, police intervened against the groups with batons.
Special police units that normally operate in the fields of organized crime and counter-terrorism also took part in the operation. French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez stated that a few thousand radical activists had gathered at the back of the march, and that about 500 of them were identified as individuals involved in acts of violence.
CLASHES ALSO OCCURRED IN MARSEILLE, BORDEAUX, AND LYON
In the southern French city of Marseille, trash containers were set on fire while roads were blocked with metal sheets. A security vehicle drove through the flaming barricade. In the city of Bordeaux, some demonstrators dressed in black with their faces covered dismantled wooden boards in front of a building to create street barricades.
In Lyon, police used tear gas against a crowd that had gathered in an area closed to demonstrations by the local government. A demonstrator who participated in the protests in Lyon described the events by saying, "We were about 150 people, mostly high school and university students. Then, almost immediately, tear gas was used. You could see almost nothing on the street."
INTERIOR MINISTER NUNEZ: THE NUMBER OF DETENTIONS WILL INCREASE
French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez stated in a statement after the demonstrations that approximately one thousand people were detained across the country and that this number is expected to increase. Nunez announced that one person was seriously injured in each of the cities of Toulouse and Clermont-Ferrand. Authorities reported that looting and destruction remained more limited compared to the events of last week.
PROTESTS WERE ALSO HELD IN OTHER EUROPEAN CITIES
Protests were also held in various European cities in line with economic and social demands similar to those in the French demonstrations. More than 100 people were detained during incidents that broke out during student-led demonstrations in Barcelona, Spain.
While police used tear gas against thousands of anti-government protesters in Tirana, the capital of Albania, clashes also occurred in Brussels, the capital of Belgium. In Milan, Italy, large-scale security measures, including the participation of hundreds of soldiers, were taken to prevent a repeat of the violence that occurred last week. Security forces prevented protesters from gathering in certain areas.
MORE THAN 2 THOUSAND 500 PEOPLE HAD BEEN DETAINED IN LAST WEEK'S PROTESTS
Approximately 550 thousand people participated in the demonstrations held in France on October 17, and reactions to rising fuel prices and the cost of living had turned into mass actions across the country following weeks of student protests. In the incidents that broke out after the demonstrations, which began largely peacefully, more than 2 thousand 500 people were detained, numerous businesses were looted, and buildings were set on fire.
The Union of Chambers of Commerce and Industry of France (CCI) had announced that more than 2 thousand businesses were directly affected by the events and that the financial damage reached hundreds of millions of euros. It was reported that during the events, a demonstrator lost their hand as a result of the explosion of intervention ammunition used by the police, and approximately one thousand police officers were also injured.
Following the violent events, night curfews were implemented in Paris and some cities. The protests, which continue about six months before the presidential elections in France, have also increased political debates. Opposition presidential candidates held President Macron and government members responsible for the events.
Protests against cost of living and education conditions continue in France: One thousand people detained https://t.co/0dVofgHoJu https://t.co/Hsvu89AY3L
— 12punto (@12puntocomtr) October 25, 2026
News Source: 12punto
