France Interior Ministry logs 980 arrests after Saturday protests

The French interior ministry reported 980 arrests on Saturday following nationwide demonstrations that turned violent in several major cities. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez stated that the figure would likely increase as processing continued. Two individuals were seriously injured, one in Toulouse and another in Clermont-Ferrand.

Authorities deployed approximately 70,000 police officers to the streets. This heavy presence was designed to prevent the disorder seen in the previous weekend. During the prior week, hundreds of businesses were looted and buildings were torched. The new restrictions aimed to contain the unrest before it spread.

The interior ministry estimated the total turnout at 410,000 people. Labor unions, however, placed the number at roughly 800,000. The gap between these figures highlights the uncertainty surrounding the scale of the mobilization. The protests focused on rising living costs and poor conditions in schools.

Violence began in the evening as daytime marches ended. In Paris, police used tear gas and water cannon near the Porte de Vincennes. An elite unit typically assigned to organized crime and counter-terrorism operations was part of the deployment. Protesters built makeshift barricades and threw projectiles at officers. Police charged with batons at masked youths who smashed the windows of a car dealership.

Nuñez told AFP that several thousand radical activists gathered at the rear of the Paris march. He identified around 500 of these individuals as rioters. In Marseille, demonstrators set fire to barricades and used metal sheets to block streets. In Bordeaux, people tore boards off a shop. In Lyon, police fired tear gas into a crowd that had gathered in an area declared off-limits by the local prefecture.

President Emmanuel Macron had issued a decree earlier in the week. It stated that only demonstrations organized by recognized trade unions would be permitted. This rule was part of a strategy to streamline the protests. Fast-track court hearings in recent days have already resulted in hundreds of jail sentences for vandalism, arson, and looting.

Protesters expressed deep frustration with the current economic climate. A 26-year-old woman named Zelie, speaking in Paris, said people were suffering a lot and that the situation had become too much. Two masked teenagers described their generation as feeling abandoned by the government. One of them said looting was not good but blamed poverty and police violence. He added that the protests would continue until demands were met.

The unrest extended beyond French borders. Riot police in Tirana, Albania, fired tear gas at thousands of anti-government demonstrators. Clashes were also reported in Brussels. In Milan, hundreds of soldiers and police prevented protesters from gathering. Officials cited fears of a repeat of the violence seen in the previous week.

Last weekend, approximately 550,000 people demonstrated against rising fuel prices and the cost of living. More than 2,500 arrests followed that event. Over 2,000 shops and businesses were directly affected. The Chambers of Commerce and Industry estimated the damage at hundreds of millions of euros. About 1,000 police officers were injured, and one demonstrator lost a hand to a crowd-control grenade. With presidential elections six months away, leading contenders have blamed Macron and his ministers for the instability.