Nearly 1,000 arrested as clashes hit French cities, Japan Times reports

French police arrested nearly 1,000 people during clashes accompanying Saturday’s demonstrations, The Japan Times reported late on October 24. The newspaper reported riot police firing tear gas at protesters in eight cities, including Paris and Marseille, despite the deployment of 70,000 police officers and gendarmes. Hundreds of thousands had demonstrated nationwide over grievances including school funding, living costs and inequality.⁷³⁶

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A larger security operation

The Japan Times reported late on October 24 that French police had arrested nearly 1,000 people during clashes accompanying the latest demonstrations. According to the newspaper, riot officers deployed tear gas against demonstrators in Nantes, Paris, Toulouse, Marseille, Montpellier, Lyon, Lille and Bordeaux. It reported Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez describing the violence faced by officers as “an extremely elevated level of violence”.⁷

According to The Straits Times, the security operation involved 70,000 police and gendarmes, an increase of 10,000 from the week before. The Guardian reported that the operation included elite units normally assigned to counter-terrorism and hostage rescue.²³

Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez pledged a firm response to vandals, looters and those committing violence. The Guardian reported that the government had acknowledged losing control during the previous Saturday’s rioting and that ultra-left groups had circulated calls for violence on social media.¹²

The Interior Ministry reported 410,000 participants nationwide, while trade unions said turnout was twice that figure, according to The Straits Times. Around 110,000 people marched on Paris’s southeastern fringes against rising living costs and inequality. NPR reported that hundreds of thousands protested across France over issues including inadequate school funding and economic inequality.³⁶

Rallies later gave way to clashes in Paris and Marseille. The Straits Times reported that riot police used tear gas and water cannon to disperse hooded youths throwing stones; a security official put their number at around 500. In Marseille, youths blocked a street with metal sheets, burned rubbish bins and threw rocks and bottles at riot police. Police said two jewellery shops were raided. The newspaper described the violence as less intense than the previous week’s unrest.³

Restrictions on marches

Under President Emmanuel Macron’s decree, only demonstrations organised by recognised trade unions were permitted. The BBC reported that Lyon, Nice and Montpellier had announced bans on gatherings, while a student-trade-union march in Paris was instructed to take a route outside the city centre.¹

Marseille reversed an earlier prohibition to allow a union-organised march, the BBC reported. According to the Guardian, local authorities said that demonstration would be the only authorised protest in Bouches-du-Rhône. The student union UNEF said its rallies would go ahead despite permission being refused.¹²

The restrictions drew criticism. Marylise Léon told the Guardian: “It’s not for the president to decide who can legitimately protest.” The BBC reported that the gilet jaunes movement was demanding Macron’s resignation and that an associated website listed more than 500 demonstrations and about 200 other actions.¹²

An authorised march in Orléans passed peacefully as demonstrators rallied against the National Rally, The Straits Times reported. Jean-Luc Mélenchon joined the Paris rally and predicted that protests would continue until Macron addressed France’s social grievances.³

Closures and court proceedings

Museums closed, central Paris shops boarded up and more than 20 metro stations shut, according to The Straits Times. Police conducted pre-emptive searches and soldiers patrolled the Champs-Elysees. Associated Press reported that museum closures were intended to reduce risks from renewed unrest, while cultural events were cancelled or shortened.³⁴

Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin reported that 232 people had been imprisoned over the October 17 riots, the BBC said on October 24. More than 1,100 people had appeared in court, with around 260 cases involving organised-gang charges. The Guardian’s October 23 report had carried an earlier ministerial figure of 217 people jailed, half of them first-time offenders.¹²