French Police Arrest 980 Protesters After Evening Clashes

Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez confirmed that 980 people were detained in France on Saturday, a figure he said would likely increase as the day wound down. The arrests occurred during a fresh wave of nationwide demonstrations that turned violent in the evening hours across multiple cities.

The interior ministry estimated that 410,000 people took to the streets, while trade unions claimed the turnout reached 800,000. To manage the crowds, authorities deployed 70,000 police officers and imposed movement restrictions in several urban centers. This heavy presence was a direct response to the disorder of the previous week, which saw hundreds of businesses looted and buildings torched.

During the daytime, the marches remained largely peaceful. The situation changed in the evening when clashes broke out in cities including Paris, Marseille, and Bordeaux. Police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse crowds. In Marseille, protesters set barricades on fire, and in Bordeaux, demonstrators tore boards from a shop front. Despite the fighting, authorities avoided the widespread rioting and looting that had characterized the protests one week earlier.

In Paris, trouble erupted at the conclusion of a march moving from Porte d'Italie to Porte de Vincennes. Police deployed an elite unit typically assigned to counter-terrorism and organized crime. Some protesters constructed makeshift barricades and threw projectiles at officers. Police charged with batons at masked youths who were smashing windows at a car dealership. Nuñez stated that several thousand radical activists gathered at the rear of the march, including approximately 500 individuals identified as rioters.

In Lyon, police fired tear gas to clear a crowd that had gathered in an area the local prefecture had declared off-limits. One protester, who said there were about 150 of them, mostly students, described the scene as having almost zero visibility. In Toulouse and Clermont-Ferrand, two people sustained serious injuries during the demonstrations.

Demonstrators expressed deep frustration with the government. Zelie, a 26-year-old protester in Paris, told BBC News that people were suffering a lot and that it had been too much. Two masked teenagers said their generation felt abandoned by the government. One of them acknowledged that looting was not ideal but blamed poverty and police violence, adding that the protests would continue until demands were met. In Orléans, 13,000 people rallied peacefully against the National Rally party.

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

President Emmanuel Macron had decreed earlier in the week that only demonstrations organized by recognized trade unions would be permitted. Fast-track court hearings in recent days have led to the jailing of hundreds of people for vandalism, arson, and looting.

The previous weekend's protests drew 550,000 people and resulted in more than 2,500 arrests. Over 2,000 shops and businesses were directly affected, with the Chambers of Commerce and Industry estimating damage in the hundreds of millions of euros. About 1,000 police officers were injured, and one demonstrator reportedly lost a hand to a crowd-control grenade. With presidential elections six months away, leading contenders have already blamed Macron and his ministers for the unrest.