France Protests Over High Prices, Lack of Public Investment; 410,000 Take to the Streets

Nearly 1,000 Arrested, Officials Estimate
Yellow Vest Movement Announces Protest for October 31

Students and labor unions staged protests across France to denounce a lack of public-sector investment and high prices.

The Asia Business Daily DB

According to major foreign media outlets on October 24 local time, authorities imposed restrictions on protests and deployed 70,000 police officers, helicopters and armored vehicles to prevent a recurrence of violence. However, hundreds of thousands of demonstrators took to the streets. President Emmanuel Macron said all protests other than authorized union marches would be banned, and authorities in several regions also issued bans, but demonstrators gathered in defiance of the orders.

The Interior Ministry put the number of protesters at 410,000, including 110,000 in Paris. The General Confederation of Labour (CGT), which organized the protests, said 800,000 people took part, including 250,000 in Paris. The turnout was reportedly lower than on October 17, when police estimated 550,000 people participated, and violence had eased considerably. However, protests escalated late in the afternoon in some areas, including Paris, with sporadic clashes continuing as police used tear gas and water cannons and bicycles and scooters were set on fire.

Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said nearly 1,000 people had been arrested so far and that the number was expected to rise. He criticized what he called “far-left groups wearing black masks” for “escalating the level of violence.” Police seized large quantities of prohibited items from the morning onward, including metal balls, fireworks, slingshots and knives. One person was seriously injured in each of Toulouse and Clermont-Ferrand, and local media reported that the injured person in Toulouse had a finger severed.

In Paris, union organizers had initially been authorized to march east from Place de la Bastille, but police ordered them at the last minute to move the route to Porte d'Italie on the outskirts of the city center, drawing objections from the unions. Jean-Luc Mélenchon, a presidential candidate for the far-left France Unbowed (LFI), joined the protest and said, “Macron will realize that these protests will be repeated every week.” The Yellow Vest movement has announced an additional protest for October 31.

In Lyon, where protests were completely banned, about 10,000 people gathered, and police used tear gas to disperse them. In Nantes, water cannons were fired at demonstrators trying to enter a restricted area. In Marseille, 17,000 people took to the streets, according to police, compared with 100,000 according to organizers; in Toulouse, the turnout was 26,500. Tear gas and water cannons were also used against demonstrators who refused to disperse in Lille, Grenoble, Nice and other cities.

Meanwhile, an anti-far-right rally was held in Orléans, where the party congress of the far-right National Rally (RN), led by Marine Le Pen, is running through October 25. Demonstrators chanted, “Macron resign, Le Pen to prison.” Police estimated the turnout at 13,000, while organizers put it at 26,000.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.