France arrests 980 as evening clashes follow 410,000-strong march

Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez announced that nearly 1,000 people were arrested in France on Saturday evening, a figure he noted would continue to rise. The detentions occurred after largely peaceful daytime marches gave way to conflicts in several major cities. Nuñez stated that two people were seriously injured, one in Toulouse and the other in Clermont-Ferrand.

The interior ministry estimated that 410,000 people participated in the demonstrations, while trade unions claimed the turnout was closer to 800,000. Authorities deployed approximately 70,000 police officers to the streets to manage the crowds. These restrictions and heavy deployments followed a decree by President Emmanuel Macron that limited demonstrations to those organized by recognized trade unions. The government aimed to prevent a recurrence of the severe disorder seen during the previous weekend’s protests.

Violence erupted in Paris as a march from Porte d'Italie toward Porte de Vincennes ended. Police used an elite unit typically assigned to counter-terrorism operations. Protesters constructed barricades and threw projectiles at officers, who responded with batons. Police also targeted groups of masked youths smashing windows at a car dealership. Nuñez said several thousand radical activists gathered at the rear of the march, including around 500 identified rioters.

In Marseille, protesters set fire to barricades and used metal sheets to block streets. In Bordeaux, individuals tore boards off a shop. Lyon saw police fire tear gas to disperse a crowd that had gathered in an area declared off-limits by the local prefecture. One protester in Lyon, part of a group of roughly 150 students, described the visibility in the street as poor due to the gas.

The demonstrations focused on the cost of living and poor conditions in schools. A 26-year-old Paris protester named Zelie told the BBC that people were suffering a lot and that it had been too much. Two masked teenagers expressed frustration, stating their generation felt abandoned by the government. One of the teenagers said looting was not good but blamed poverty and police violence, adding that the protests would end when demands were met.

The unrest extended beyond France. Riot police in Tirana, Albania, fired tear gas at anti-government demonstrators. Clashes were also reported in Brussels. In Milan, soldiers and police prevented protesters from gathering to avoid a repeat of the previous week's violence. Separately, 13,000 people rallied peacefully in Orléans against the National Rally party.