{"id":3267,"date":"2026-10-25T12:03:54","date_gmt":"2026-10-25T07:03:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/?p=3267"},"modified":"2026-10-25T12:03:54","modified_gmt":"2026-10-25T07:03:54","slug":"france-protests-turn-violent-despite-massive-security-operation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/?p=3267","title":{"rendered":"France protests turn violent despite massive security operation"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Hundreds of thousands of demonstrators marched in France on Saturday, with largely peaceful rallies giving way to clashes \u200bin Paris and Marseille as night fell despite a huge security operation aimed at preventing a repeat of last week\u2019s unrest<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Interior Ministry said 410,000 people \u200ctook part in protests nationwide, though unions said the true figure was twice as high.<\/p>\n

The main demonstration took place on the southeastern fringes of Paris, where at least 110,000 people turned out to denounce rising living costs and growing inequality.<\/p>\n

The atmosphere deteriorated sharply after the rally ended.<\/p>\n

Riot police fired tear gas and water cannon at a group of around 500 hooded youths before they eventually dispersed on a cold, rainy evening.<\/p>\n

In France\u2019s second city, Marseille, youths set fire to rubbish \u200bbins to block roads, and hurled rocks and bottles at security forces. Police said several stores, including two jewellery shops, were ransacked.<\/p>\n

Clashes also flared in Lyon, Bordeaux, Grenoble, Clermont-Ferrand, Lille, Rennes, Nantes and Toulouse.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn almost \u200bevery march we saw the formation of these high-risk groups. They broke away from the main body and sought to commit acts of \u2060violence,\u201d said Interior Minister Laurent Nunez, accusing far-left activists and criminal gangs of seeking to foment trouble.<\/p>\n

<\/a>Paris in lockdown<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Authorities deployed 70,000 police officers and gendarmes, 10,000 more than a week earlier, \u200bafter conceding they had underestimated the scale of the unrest on October 17.<\/p>\n

Nunez told reporters the violence was less intense than a week ago, when looters and vandals went on the rampage. \u201cWhat \u200bchanged was anticipation,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He also said far-right activists had sought confrontations with leftist groups in the southern cities of Nice and Montpellier, opening a potential new front in the disturbances.<\/p>\n

Much of central Paris took on the appearance of a city under lockdown, with shopkeepers boarding up storefronts<\/a>, museums closing their doors<\/a> and more than 20 metro stations shut.<\/p>\n

Business groups urged retailers to remain closed after thousands of shops and businesses were damaged or \u200blooted across France last weekend.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are hardly any customers, so it\u2019s not really worth staying open,\u201d said Oskar, manager of a Kiton boutique in Paris.<\/p>\n

Several of the capital\u2019s best-known cultural institutions, \u200bincluding the Louvre, the Musee d\u2019Orsay and the Paris Opera, closed for the day as a precaution, leaving tourists frustrated.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything\u2019s boarded up, and we\u2019re not quite sure where we should be,\u201d said Xavier Dolliole, \u200ca tourist from \u2060the US city of New Orleans.<\/p>\n

<\/a>Protests across Europe<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The nationwide disorder began with small student demonstrations in suburban Paris last month to denounce school conditions.<\/p>\n

It swiftly broadened into a wider protest against the government\u2019s economic policies and inspired demonstrations in neighbouring countries.<\/p>\n

On Saturday, Belgian police<\/a> used tear gas and pepper spray as they clashed in Brussels with anti-government demonstrators, with protests also taking place in a number of Italian cities for a second weekend, and in Albania<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Hard-left leader Jean-Luc M\u00e9lenchon, who joined the Paris rally, predicted the protests would continue until President Emmanuel Macron, whose mandate expires next year, addressed the \u200bsocial malaise in France, one of the world\u2019s \u200brichest nations.<\/p>\n

\u201cGiven the current situation, I \u2060think he will come to understand that this will happen again every week. There is still time for (Macron) to give in. After that, the only thing left to him will be the exit door,\u201d Melenchon told reporters.<\/p>\n

<\/a>Far-right party holds congress<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Many demonstrators accused the government of overreacting to last \u200bweek\u2019s turmoil, as soldiers were dispatched to patrol the Champs-\u00c9lys\u00e9es, a grand boulevard lined with luxury shops and restaurants.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe shed tears for shops, \u200bnot for the people \u2060who are being impoverished all year round,\u201d said Clara Lebbadi, a 22-year-old arts student.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy friend and I almost didn\u2019t come because we were scared, but we came precisely because it\u2019s important not to let repression win,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

The first authorised march on Saturday passed off peacefully in Orl\u00e9ans, around 120km south of Paris, where demonstrators rallied against Marine Le Pen\u2019s far-right National Rally, which is \u2060holding a \u200bparty congress in the city.<\/p>\n

A shooting<\/a> west of Paris on Friday heightened tensions. A gunman suspected of acting out of \u200bIslamophobic hatred killed one person and wounded four others, including a 12-year-old girl.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have come to tell the far right, face-to-face, that we are not afraid,\u201d said Bally Bagayoko, the mayor of Saint-Denis and a member of Melenchon\u2019s \u200bFrance Unbowed party.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hundreds of thousands of demonstrators marched in France on Saturday, with largely peaceful rallies giving way to clashes \u200bin Paris and Marseille as night fell despite a huge security operation aimed at preventing a repeat of last week\u2019s unrest. The Interior Ministry said 410,000 people \u200ctook part in protests nationwide, though unions said the true figure was twice as high. The main demonstration took place on the southeastern fringes of Paris, where at least 110,000 people turned out to denounce rising living costs and growing inequality. The atmosphere deteriorated sharply…<\/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-3267","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\/3267","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=3267"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3267\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3267"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3267"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3267"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}