{"id":2857,"date":"2026-10-17T19:04:12","date_gmt":"2026-10-17T14:04:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/?p=2857"},"modified":"2026-10-17T19:04:12","modified_gmt":"2026-10-17T14:04:12","slug":"tear-gas-clashes-hit-french-cities-in-cost-of-living-protests","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/?p=2857","title":{"rendered":"Tear gas, clashes hit French cities in cost-of-living protests"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Police fired tear gas \u200band clashed with protesters in several French cities on Saturday as some of the most violent protests in years \u200cover living costs and public services drew thousands onto the streets.<\/strong><\/p>\n

French authorities said 140 protests involving 32,800 people had been recorded outside Paris by midday and blamed the unrest on what they described as the \u201cultra-left\u201d.<\/p>\n

The protests began last month at high schools in Paris\u2019 poor northern suburbs, where anger over teacher shortages \u200band shabby facilities evolved into a broader movement focused on inequality, public spending and living standards.<\/p>\n

Violent incidents were reported in \u200bseveral cities, including vandalism in Marseille and attacks targeting police, media and public buildings, the Interior Ministry said.<\/p>\n

A \u2060large police presence was visible in central Paris, especially near landmarks such as the Champs-Elysees and the Arc de Triomphe, which were \u200bexcluded from the routes of two authorised demonstrations.<\/p>\n

Protesters in high-visibility vests blocked streets, recalling the Yellow Vest movement that marked President Emmanuel Macron\u2019s \u200bprevious term in office.<\/p>\n

In Marseille, the mayor said the town hall had been vandalised and that additional police were being sent to the city following talks with the prime minister and interior minister.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are fighting because the cost of living is too harsh, because the price of fuel is too high, because \u200bhigh school pupils are being violently attacked and hurt all over the country just for trying to protest and ask for more \u200bteachers and decent learning conditions,\u201d said Lola, a 19-year-old protester in Paris.<\/p>\n

About 100 people walked towards the start of the protests shouting \u201cAll cops are bastards\u201d, \u200caccording to \u2060a Reuters witness.<\/p>\n

Macron, who urged calm on Friday, is entering the final stretch of his presidency amid a fragmented political landscape and growing pressure over the economy.<\/p>\n

France\u2019s efforts to reduce public debt have failed to reassure investors, pushing government borrowing costs to their highest levels in more than two decades.<\/p>\n

<\/a>POLICE RESPONSE UNDER SCRUTINY<\/h3>\n

Police tactics have drawn criticism following a series of injuries among demonstrators, including a teenager who lost a hand after \u200bpicking up a stun grenade. Prime \u200bMinister Sebastien Lecornu said more \u2060than 900 police officers had also been injured.<\/p>\n

The police watchdog is investigating at least two dozen allegations of police violence. France suspended the use of stun grenades during the student demonstrations, but Interior Minister \u200bLaurent Nunez said they could be used on Saturday.<\/p>\n

Calls on social media for veterans of previous \u200bprotest movements to \u2060join the demonstrations appeared to have broadened participation, raising the prospect of larger.<\/p>\n

The Yellow Vest movement emerged in 2018 in opposition to diesel taxes before expanding into a wider protest against living costs and inequality. The movement subsided after Macron announced billions of euros in tax cuts.<\/p>\n

Yannick Maillou, \u2060a teacher \u200bfrom La Cr\u00e8che in western France who participated in the Yellow Vest movement, said \u200bseveral gathering points had been organised locally for Saturday\u2019s protests, with labour unions also encouraging participation.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Police fired tear gas \u200band clashed with protesters in several French cities on Saturday as some of the most violent protests in years \u200cover living costs and public services drew thousands onto the streets. French authorities said 140 protests involving 32,800 people had been recorded outside Paris by midday and blamed the unrest on what they described as the \u201cultra-left\u201d. The protests began last month at high schools in Paris\u2019 poor northern suburbs, where anger over teacher shortages \u200band shabby facilities evolved into a broader movement focused on inequality, public…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2857","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-english"],"gutentor_comment":0,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2857","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2857"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2857\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2857"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2857"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2857"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}