Protests in France continue, more than 1,000 people arrested

According to a report from the French Interior Ministry, a total of 410,000 people participated in protests across the country on Saturday (October 24). The French General Trade Union (CGT), which organized the rally, said that nearly 800,000 people participated in demonstrations across the country, and about 250,000 people took to the streets in the capital Paris alone. Protest focuses include the high cost of living and the inadequacies of the education system.

In response to the protests, French authorities instituted strict rules, deployed some 70,000 security personnel and banned many demonstrations.

Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez emphasized that the protest march that was allowed to be held initially "went smoothly" and that looting and violence had decreased significantly compared with the previous week. However, law enforcement departments encountered "extremely serious violence" from "ultra-left radicals", and police-civilian conflicts still broke out in many cities including the capital Paris and Lyon, Nantes and Toulouse. Two people were "seriously injured" during clashes in the cities of Clermont-Ferrand and Toulouse. Police arrested more than 1,000 people.

Over the weekend, large-scale riots broke out across France. Thousands of shops were looted, city halls and police stations were attacked, and buildings were set on fire. Authorities reported that about 2,700 people were arrested over the weekend.

The "yellow vest" movement that swept France from November 2018 to spring 2019 has announced new demonstrations next week. Organizers announced the launch of the "third phase" of action on October 31 and called for rallies and sit-ins in front of the National Assembly and all French town halls. In addition, they plan to hold a protest next Friday where they will bang pots, pans and other kitchen utensils - a so-called "casserolade".

The demonstrators in France do not belong to a unified movement. Young people who initially protested for weeks demanding improvements in schools have since been joined by other groups, such as industry groups, the "yellow vest" movement and the French left. Unions also expressed support for them. Left-wing populist presidential candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon said President Macron must realize that "demonstrations happen every week." France will hold the first and second rounds of voting in the presidential election on April 18 and May 2, 2027.