Interior Ministry counts 980 arrests as French unions claim 800,000 march

French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez announced on Saturday evening that authorities had detained 980 people during a nationwide protest against the cost of living. He stated the number would likely increase as police completed their reports. The government estimated the turnout at 410,000 participants, a figure significantly lower than the 800,000 claimed by trade unions.

Officials deployed approximately 70,000 police officers to manage the demonstrations, which were primarily focused on rising living costs and poor school conditions. Restrictions were imposed in several cities to prevent a repeat of the severe disorder seen the previous weekend. That earlier event involved looting, arson, and an estimated 2,500 arrests, causing hundreds of millions of euros in damage to businesses.

Daytime marches in Paris, Lyon, and Marseille remained largely peaceful. Tensions escalated in the evening as police used tear gas and water cannon to disperse crowds. In Paris, an elite unit typically assigned to counter-terrorism operations joined the police line. Protesters constructed makeshift barricades and threw objects at officers. Police responded by charging with batons toward groups of masked youths who broke windows at a car dealership.

In Marseille, demonstrators set fire to barricades and used metal sheets to block streets. In Bordeaux, crowds tore boards off a shop. Lyon saw police fire tear gas into a crowd that gathered in an area declared off-limits by the local prefecture. Nuñez reported that two people suffered serious injuries, one in Toulouse and the other in Clermont-Ferrand.

President Emmanuel Macron had ordered earlier in the week that only demonstrations organized by recognized trade unions would be permitted. Fast-track court hearings have already resulted in hundreds of jail sentences for vandalism and arson. Nuñez noted that several thousand radical activists, including about 500 identified rioters, gathered at the rear of the Paris march.

Protesters expressed frustration with economic conditions. A 26-year-old Paris resident named Zelie told the BBC that people are suffering greatly and that the situation has become too much to bear. Two masked teenagers stated that their generation feels abandoned by the government. One of them blamed poverty and police violence for the looting, saying the protests would continue until demands were met.

The unrest extended beyond France. Riot police fired tear gas at anti-government demonstrators in Tirana, Albania. Clashes were reported in Brussels, while hundreds of soldiers and police in Milan prevented protesters from gathering. The demonstrations come six months before presidential elections, a timeline that has led major political contenders to place blame on Macron and his cabinet for the economic instability.