French protests avoided a repeat of looting... 1,000 arrested in sporadic clashes

Protests against high prices held throughout France on the 24th (local time) took place without a recurrence of extreme violence or looting like last week, amid an active response from the authorities who mobilized large-scale public power.

Foreign media outlets such as Bloomberg reported that as the authorities announced a policy of strict response to radical actions, such as issuing an order to limit protests and deploying 70,000 police officers, helicopters, and armored vehicles to prevent a recurrence of violence, the scale has decreased compared to the 17th and the overheated atmosphere has calmed down somewhat.

According to the French Ministry of the Interior, about 110,000 people participated in protests limited to the outskirts of Paris, the capital, on this day, and about 300,000 people took to the streets nationwide, with a total of about 400,000 people participating, which is less than the 550,000 people the previous week. However, the Confederation of Labor (CGT), a major French labor union that encouraged participation in this protest, differed from the government by counting the number of participants at 800,000.

However, most of the protests were peaceful, but sporadic clashes occurred between some of the protesters and the police at the end of the protests in major cities such as Paris, Marseille, Lyon, Bordeaux, and Toulouse, and about 1,000 people were arrested across France.

The police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse protesters dressed in black and covering their faces against the police, and some protesters reportedly fired firecrackers at the police, heightening tensions.

Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez blamed far-left forces for the clashes and claimed, "They started the uprising and tried to end it." Minister Núñez said violence against police was again at a high level, but thanks to the deployment of large-scale public forces, "we were able to prevent the looting of stores and destruction of buildings like last week," and emphasized, "We will focus all our capabilities in the coming days and weeks to respond to the threat."

The French government, which was caught off guard last week when large-scale protests spread into nationwide violence and looting, did its best to prevent a recurrence of chaos by deploying about 70,000 security personnel, including anti-terrorism special forces.

While subway stations throughout downtown Paris were closed, major museums and art galleries, such as the Louvre Museum and the Musee d'Orsay, were closed for the day, and the soccer match between Paris Saint-Germain and Olympique Lyonnais was also postponed. Stores, from luxury brands to grocery stores, braced for vandalism and looting by blocking windows with wooden boards and removing merchandise from shelves.

The protest on the 24th, which the organizers named 'Act II', signifying the next stage, passed without any extreme violence, but it is expected that large-scale protests will continue for the time being, so the French authorities are unlikely to be able to relax their tension.

Le Nouveau Lycée, a French high school student group that sparked nationwide large-scale protests demanding improvement in poor educational environments, announced ahead of its meeting with Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu on the 26th that it is prepared to continue protests if no specific government action is taken.

While labor unions also announced a general strike on the 5th of next month, CGT pledged to expand protests until the government and employers accept workers' demands.

While French protests against poor educational environments and rising prices are spreading like wildfire to other European countries where the situation is not much different, large-scale protests and clashes continued one after another in Spain, Italy, Belgium, and Albania on this day.

In Barcelona, ​​Spain, unrest broke out around Plaza Catalunya in the city center, with protesters setting fire to garbage bins, looting stores, and throwing stones at police, and a total of 128 people were arrested on charges of damaging and looting public property. Local media reported that more than half of them, or 73, were minors.

In Italy, large and small rallies were held in major regions such as the capital Rome, the second largest city Milan, Turin, and Florence. In Rome, some protesters entered the Colosseum amid clashes between police and protesters. In Milan, where 1,400 military and police personnel, including paratroopers, were deployed, no looting of luxury stores like last weekend was reported.

In Brussels, the Belgian capital, about 400 protesters clashed sporadically with police and nine people were arrested, the Brussels Times reported.