Event: France

A French flag flies as protesters stand on the Marianne statue of the Place de la République during a demonstration against the cost of living and rising fuel prices in Paris as part of nationwide protests called by the "Yellow Vests" movement, joined by French high school and university students, teachers and parents demanding better school conditions and government action, as well as labour unions, workers, farmers and retirees, in France, on October 17, 2026. | Photo Credit: Reuters France is in turmoil. More than half a million people hit the streets on October 17, as protests swept across the country. As the administration greeted the protesters with a large deployment of riot police, peaceful demonstrations were engulfed by violence in many places. Arsonists set fire to the Lyon tourist office and burnt down the Limoges City Hall, a historic municipal building. Protesters stormed the townhall in Marseille and attacked the prefect’s residence in Bordeaux. In Paris’s Place de la Republique, protesting youth who clashed with the police torched vehicles and looted shops. Luxury retailers such as Louis Vuitton, Hermes, Dior and Galeries Lafayette suffered millions of dollars in losses as their stores were ransacked. Police arrested or detained more than 6,000 people, including hundreds of minors.With the police outnumbered and unable to protect public and private property, several cities resorted to full or partial curfews. Government officials have blamed the unrest on “seditionists from far-left fringe groups”. They have accused La France Insoumise, or LFI (France Unbowed), the leftwing political party launched by veteran politician Jean-Luc Melenchon (75), of inciting the protests with the aim of extracting political mileage ahead of the presidential elections in April 2027. Published - October 25, 2026 01:15 am IST

Figure caption, Watch: BBC in Paris as police charge protesters during skirmishesNearly 1,000 arrests were made as hundreds of thousands of people took part in another day of protests across France which were followed by some clashes late on Saturday, officials have said.After a day of largely peaceful demonstrations, police fired tear gas and water cannon to disperse protesters in a number of cities including Paris, while barricades were set alight in Marseille and people ripped boards from a shop in Bordeaux.But officials have so far managed to avoid rioting and looting on the scale seen last weekend, which resulted in some of the worst scenes of disorder in France's modern history.The interior ministry said an estimated 410,000 people protested on Saturday, while the unions put the number at about 800,000.Some 70,000 police officers were deployed and restrictions imposed in several cities to prevent the latest protests over the cost of living and poor school conditions from descending into the kind of chaos which saw officers outnumbered, hundreds of businesses looted and buildings torched.President Emmanuel Macron had decreed earlier this week that only demonstrations organised by a recognised trade unions would be permitted. Hundreds of people have been jailed for vandalism, arson and looting after fast-track court hearings in recent days.Image source, AFP via Getty ImagesImage caption, In the southern port of Marseille, protesters erected makeshift street barricades and set them alight late on SaturdayClashes between protesters and riot police in Paris erupted at the end of a peaceful march from the city's Porte d'Italie towards Porte de Vincennes on Saturday, where the police operation included an elite unit that usually deals with organised crime and counter-terrorism.Some protesters were seen erecting makeshift barricades and pelting officers with projectiles, while police baton-charged groups of masked youths who were smashing the windows…

Thousands of young people marched on Saturday (October 24, 2026) through the streets of several Italian cities, including Milan, Rome and Turin, as authorities deployed large numbers of police and soldiers in a largely-successful bid to stave off a repeat of the violent clashes and looting that marred similar protests last week.The demonstration in Milan remained peaceful, but there were brief clashes with police in both Rome and Turin.In Milan, thousands of young people marched the streets as soldiers were deployed and luxury boutiques were boarded up, but by late afternoon, most shops had opened, Italian media reported.Premier Giorgia Meloni announced a raft of measures, including sending an additional 500 soldiers to Milan and tougher penalties for minors, who police said made up a large part of the violent protesters last week. In Milan, police detained several minors as a preventive measure, media reported.While protests in France have claimed most international attention, large demonstrations also rocked many European cities on Saturday (October 24, 2026) from Milan to Rome to Madrid, Lisbon and Tirana.The protests encompass a broad range of issues from education and corruption to anti-war movements, pensions and housing.Army vehicles and boarded-up luxury stores in MilanIn Milan, huge crowds of mostly young people gathered as night fell, chanting insults to Ms. Meloni and holding aloft banners such as "No to lies of the State".A group of protesters dumped manure outside Italy's energy regulator and burned a symbolic, oversized electricity bill, images broadcast on local television showed.The 500 soldiers deployed to Milan came in addition to hundreds already stationed there, supporting about 5,000 police and other security personnel. Authorities used drone surveillance, checks at railway stations, rapid-response units and online monitoring for potential calls to violence.A mayoral hopeful, Pierfrancesco Majorino, who announced his candidacy on Thursday (October 22, 2026), joined…

Clashes erupted across France on Saturday (October 24, 2026) as protesters took to the streets, a week after marches that degenerated into violence and prompted a firm security backlash from President Emmanuel Macron, who is scrambling to restore order.Police arrested nearly 1,000 people as officers faced “an extremely elevated level of violence” from black-clad “ultra-left” extremists, Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said.Riot police squads fired tear gas at protesters in the capital as well as in Marseille, Lyon, Bordeaux, Lille, Toulouse, Montpellier and Nantes.Two people were “seriously” injured, Mr. Nunez said: one man in Toulouse, who reportedly had fingers blown off, and another person in Clermont-Ferrand. He did not give details of either case.Authorities had deployed 70,000 security personnel across the country for the new marches, called to protest the cost of living.The violence came a week after rioting that saw public buildings vandalised, hundreds of shops looted and 2,700 people arrested, casting a pall over the country six months before an election to choose Mr. Macron’s successor.Mr. Nunez said on Saturday’s (October 24, 2026) outcome was more “positive” than a week ago, with more police on the streets acting more rapidly, conducting more pre-demonstration checks and better protecting businesses.But there was widespread anger at the government over a protest crackdown viewed as an assault on the right to protest.Police battle ‘rioters’Saturday’s (October 24, 2026) demonstrations drew between 4,10,000 and 8,00,000 people across the country, according to different estimates by authorities and the organising CGT union.The main Paris march had between 1,10,000 and 2,50,000 attendees, according to those sources.Mr. Macron’s government has ordered police to prevent protesters from reaching city centres, where shops are concentrated, and in Paris and some other cities, partial curfews were imposed in certain urban zones.The French President had ordered non-union demonstrations be banned as “illegitimate”.In Paris,…

A protester holds the French flag as he protects himself from a water cannon during a demonstration against the rising cost of living, in Paris on Saturday. | AFP-JIJI Paris – Clashes broke out Saturday in Paris and other French cities amid demonstrations held a week after others that degenerated into street violence and prompted a robust security backlash, with President Emmanuel Macron seeking to restore order.Police arrested nearly 1,000 people as officers were confronted with “an extremely elevated level of violence” from black-clad “ultra-left” extremists, Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said.Riot police squads fired tear gas at protesters in the capital as well as in Marseille, Lyon, Bordeaux, Lille, Toulouse, Montpellier and Nantes. In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever.By subscribing, you can help us get the story right. SUBSCRIBE NOW

French interior minister: 1,000 arrested during protests, with number expected to riseFrench police arrested almost 1,000 people on Saturday during the protests held across the country, interior minister Laurent Nunez said.He told reporters that the number “will rise” as more data from police becomes available.Although marches over the cost of living “passed off well” in cities, officers found themselves later confronted with “an extremely elevated level of violence” from “ultra-left” groups, Nunez said.France's interior minister Laurent Nunez has given an update on the number of arrests at Saturday’s protests Photograph: Julien de Rosa/EPAKey events9h agoSaturday summary9h agoParis protesters report heavy handed response from police10h agoProtesters try to force entry into Colosseum in Rome11h agoFrench interior minister: 1,000 arrested during protests, with number expected to rise12h agoTotal of 410,000 protesters marched across France12h agoPolice say 110,000 people marched in Paris14h ago25,000 people rally in Madrid for pension guarantees14h agoAre French high school buildings dilapidated and rat-infested with collapsing ceilings?14h agoHeavy police presence at demonstrations16h agoDemonstrations kick off across France's major cities amid heavy security16h agoParis protesters set off on march16h agoMarches over pensions in Madrid17h agoFrench police make 135 arrests, interior minister says17h agoFresh protests also under way in Albania17h agoFrench police fire teargas at protesters in Lyon17h agoProtest march under way in Orléans18h agoItaly bracing for several protests nationwide18h ago'Here to support the schoolchildren's demands'18h agoItaly police raid homes in Milan ahead of protests19h agoParis protest route moved away from Bastille and pushed back to afternoon19h agoSome protest bans overturned in last-minute court challenges20h agoDrive-by shooting outside of Paris targeted victims on skin colour20h agoCounter-demonstrators expected at Le Pen rally20h agoParis closes 24 metro stations21h agoOpening summarySaturday summary French police arrested 1,000 people during protests about the cost of living and education, with that number expected to rise, according to…

Hundreds of thousands marched in cities across France on Saturday in largely peaceful protests to support schoolchildren’s demands for more teachers and repairs to dilapidated buildings, as Emmanuel Macron faces a social and political crisis in his final months as president.In Paris, at least 110,000 people marched along the eastern edge of the city, according to government estimates. They supported high schoolers but also complained of the high cost of living and the government’s heavy policing, saying riot police had been sent to target school protesters over the past month, instead of the government offering political solutions.The mood in Paris on Saturday afternoon was peaceful and lighthearted, with brass bands playing and children and grandchildren present. Some people carried banners critical of the government’s policing, saying: “Oppression breeds rebellion” and “The right to protest”.But at the end of the Paris demonstration, at Porte de Vincennes on the city’s eastern edge, different groups of masked men dressed in black emerged who had not appeared to have taken part in the peaceful march. Some groups of masked men threw glass bottles and stones at police, who responded with teargas, water cannon and stun grenades. A bin was set alight and fireworks were set off towards police.Riot police also charged a larger crowd of protesters at the end of the Paris march, using batons against them.Police fired teargas to prevent protesters in Lyon, Lille, Montpellier, Nantes and Toulouse from reaching city centres. In Marseille, some bin fires were lit amid clashes with police. At least two people were seriously injured, one in Clermont-Ferrand and another in Toulouse, who reportedly had fingers blown off.The government estimated that at least 400,000 people had marched across France. Trade unions estimated the number at double that. The interior ministry said there had been almost 1,000 arrests.Laurent Nuñez,…

Paris police said that 1,10,000 people marched in the capital Saturday (October 24, 2026) as part of nationwide demonstrations over the cost of living, and the situation was “calm”.That contrasted with other cities, including Lyon, Lille, Toulouse, Montpellier and Nantes, where clashes broke out during demonstrations.Paris police said that more than 3,000 people were stopped and checked by officers and 65 people were arrested during the demonstration in the French capital.French police fired tear gas on Saturday (October 24, 2026) to prevent protesters in several cities from advancing to the centres, in fresh nationwide demonstrations held a week after riots broke out, AFP journalists saw.Riot squads fired tear gas at protesters in Lyon, Lille, Toulouse and Nantes, hours after Interior Minister Laurent Nunez warned: “We will not tolerate any violence or any disturbance of public order.”“The police are really mobile... They come and disperse marches before they even form,” said a 21-year-old student who had turned up to protest, speaking on condition of anonymity.Elsewhere, authorities and rattled shopkeepers geared up for potential new street violence.Near Paris’s Bastille neighbourhood, a clothing store had removed all its merchandise from shelves ahead of the demonstrations, while a nearby restaurant was boarded up with signs insisting it was “still open”. Many other retailers in the capital also had wooden boards covering their windows.The Louvre and the Musee d’Orsay museums were closed.The capital’s police said at midday officers had confiscated “various forbidden items” but described the situation as “calm”.In Marseille, riot squad vehicles, armoured trucks and a water cannon were parked in the city centre, while police elsewhere prepared for potential clashes.Also read | Fall of the centre: on the public discontent in FranceThey were among 70,000 security personnel the interior ministry said were mobilised to counter the “high” threat of violence. Protest against Le…

France will deploy about 70,000 police nationwide as it braces for new protests on Saturday (October 24, 2026) after some of the worst urban violence in years erupted on the sidelines of demonstrations a week ago.Protests by high school students over learning conditions sparked a movement that has since spread nationwide, fuelled by broader anger over the rising cost of living.About 70,000 security personnel will be deployed on Saturday (October 24, 2026), Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said at a news conference in Paris, warning that calls for violence and looting were circulating on social media.The protests have come at a critical moment for France six months ahead of elections to replace President Emmanuel Macron, with a new poll underlining far-right candidate Marine Le Pen as the frontrunner and indicating her position has been strengthened by the latest events.Adding to tensions, Le Pen is due at the weekend to host her National Rally (RN) party congress in Orleans, with thousands of supporters expected and local authorities fearing clashes as counter-protesters also head to the city south of Paris.Mr. Macron met representatives of secondary school pupils on Friday (October 23, 2026), but they emerged from the talks urging students to keep protesting until the government put forward concrete proposals to address their demands.Offenders jailedMr. Macron’s government has sought to draw a line between the legitimate demands of protesters and the looting, burning and ransacking that erupted on the sidelines of demonstrations last Saturday.Courts have already sent 217 people, half of them first-time offenders, to prison over the events on Saturday, Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin said.On Thursday (October 22, 2026), Mr. Macron called for “the utmost severity” against “acts of delinquency”, accusing “ultra-left” groups of having sought to “bring down the republic” last weekend.An extreme-left group in western France posted on its website…

French police work at the scene after a drive-by shooting that killed one person and injured several others in Trappes, in the Yvelines department, near Paris, France, on October 23, 2026. | Photo Credit: Reuters A gunman firing from a vehicle at three locations in the Paris suburbs killed one person and wounded at least five others, including a 12-year-old girl, in what French authorities described as a racially-motivated attack.The suspect was arrested soon after the shooting, and France's National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor's office took charge of the case. President Emmanuel Macron said it was "a racist terror attack" and that the suspect's statements suggested it was premeditated."These people were targeted because of their skin colour or perceived religion, and for no other reason," Mr. Macron said following a meeting with officials and residents in the suburb of Trappes, west of Paris. "There is no place for this in France."The shootings took place over the course of about 15 minutes at three separate locations in the towns of Trappes and La Verrière, a suburban area about 30 kilometres (20 miles) from Paris, Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said. One person died and five were wounded, three of them with life-threatening injuries, he said."A deadly rampage took place this morning," Mr. Nuñez told reporters in Trappes.The suspect, who was arrested by police less than 20 minutes after he first started shooting, has been identified only as Kévin T, born in 1987, the National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor's office said. Authorities did not disclose the man's last name.His criminal record shows four previous convictions that had been automatically expunged under French law, the statement said.A search of his car uncovered a Sten-type submachine gun and a canister of tear gas, and investigators found his apartment had been booby-trapped with three gas cylinders and electrical wires connected…

On Friday evening on 16 October, Emmanuel and Brigitte Macron attended a Céline Dion concert in Paris. While the Macrons were dancing, the rest of the country was bracing for what was to come. On 17 October, the world saw France descend into chaos: rioters, looters and the black bloc took to the streets of Paris and other major French cities, burning buildings, sacking shops and desecrating monuments. There have now been weeks of unrest in France. Throughout it all, Palestinian and Algerian flags have been waved all over the country. Some demonstrators have shouted slogans such as, ‘That’s for Palestine!’ and ‘Globalise the Intifada!’. Even Greta Thunberg has been on the scene, attending a school protest earlier this month wearing a keffiyeh. In a strange sense, this is a huge success for Macron. After all, he decided to recognise a Palestinian state last year, unaware that Paris would become its capital. Compared with what may come in the near future, what France experienced last weekend may seem mild. Demonstrations have been announced for this weekend and, on 20 November, youth organisations from 12 European countries are calling for protests and strikes across Europe. They may not yet have succeeded in globalising the Intifada, but they are certainly Europeanising it. What happened last weekend was a violent insurrection, a civil war in which only one side was attacking. For many years, the French police have not been authorised to properly defend themselves. Restrictions have been imposed on police officers for fear of a George Floyd-type incident. The rioters are well aware of this and are eager to take advantage. Mercifully, there have been no fatal confrontations linked to the riots, but this ‘miracle’ may not last long, as demonstrations will continue, at least until the presidential elections in six months’…

Police officers stand in front of a fire in a street as clashes erupted at Place de la Republique following an unauthorised demonstration, central Paris, on October 18, 2026 | Photo Credit: AFP Some 70,000 law enforcement officers will be deployed across France on Saturday (October 24, 2026), while the Louvre and several other major Paris museums will be closed as authorities seek to prevent renewed violence during planned protests.Protests last week devolved into mayhem, with people setting fires, storming public buildings, smashing shop windows, looting and clashing with police. It was France's most violent unrest in years.Demonstrators plan to take to the streets again on Saturday (October 24) to denounce the high cost of living. Students, members of the CGT labour union and activists from the “ yellow vest ” movement, whose demonstrations against social injustice shook France in 2018 and 2019, are all set to join.French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said some 70,000 police officers and gendarmes would be deployed, along with helicopters, armored vehicles and water cannons. In addition, elite police units will help secure public buildings like city halls in a “highly mobile” security operation, he said.“There have been numerous calls from radical far-left groups on social media to commit acts of violence and vandalism. There have also been renewed calls for looting, with those messages clearly being spread by rioters," Mr. Nuñez said at a news conference.“We will be absolutely uncompromising" with those involved in violence, he added, warning that police will have a “very firm approach to making arrests, and there will be legal consequences.”In a statement to The Associated Press, the Culture Ministry said the Louvre, the Orsay and Picasso museums, as well as the Grand Palais, would be closed. The Ministry called on all institutions under its authority to adopt any necessary…