French Police Detain 980 as Nighttime Clashes Follow Daytime Marches

French authorities detained nearly 1,000 people on Saturday following a new wave of nationwide protests that began peacefully but descended into clashes during the evening.

The unrest follows a turbulent weekend last week, when approximately 550,000 demonstrators took to the streets against rising fuel prices and the cost of living. That previous event resulted in more than 2,500 arrests and extensive damage, with over 2,000 shops affected and losses estimated in the hundreds of millions of euros. The current protests are driven by concerns over school conditions and the general cost of living. To prevent a recurrence of the chaos seen a week earlier, when hundreds of businesses were looted and buildings torched, the government deployed 70,000 police officers and imposed restrictions in multiple cities.

President Emmanuel Macron issued a decree earlier in the week stating that only demonstrations organized by recognized trade unions would be permitted. Following fast-track court hearings, hundreds of individuals have already been jailed for vandalism, arson, and looting. The interior ministry estimated the turnout for Saturday's events at 410,000, while unions claimed the number reached approximately 800,000.

In Paris, disturbances started after a march from Porte d'Italie toward Porte de Vincennes. Police utilized tear gas and water cannons to disperse crowds. An elite unit typically assigned to organized crime and counter-terrorism was involved in the operation. Protesters constructed makeshift barricades and threw objects at officers, while police charged groups of masked youths who were breaking windows at a car dealership. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez stated that several thousand radical activists gathered at the rear of the march, including around 500 identified rioters.

Violence occurred in other major cities as well. In Marseille, barricades were set on fire and metal sheets blocked streets. In Lyon, police fired tear gas at a crowd in an area declared off-limits by the local prefecture. One protester in Lyon, who said there were around 150 participants, mostly students, noted that visibility in the street was poor. Nuñez reported that two people were seriously injured, one in Toulouse and the other in Clermont-Ferrand, and indicated the arrest count would likely rise.

Demonstrators expressed frustration with the government's response. A 26-year-old woman named Zelie in Paris described the situation as a period of suffering and said it had become too much. Two masked teenagers in Paris stated that their generation felt abandoned, with one blaming poverty and police violence for the looting. Separately, 13,000 people rallied peacefully in Orléans against the hard-right National Rally party.

The unrest extended beyond France's borders. Riot police fired tear gas at thousands of anti-government demonstrators in Tirana, Albania, and clashes were reported in Brussels. In Milan, hundreds of soldiers and police prevented protesters from gathering due to fears of a repeat of the previous week's violence. With presidential elections six months away, leading contenders have begun blaming President Macron and his ministers for the instability.