French police arrested 166 people, on Saturday, during widespread protests across the country against the rising costs of living and the deterioration of public services, which included confrontations with security forces and acts of vandalism in Paris, Marseille, and other cities.
The Ministry of the Interior announced the participation of about 32,800 people in 140 protest movements outside the capital, Paris, until midday, while thousands of demonstrators took to the streets of the capital.
The protests brought together students, trade unions, and participants in the “yellow vest” movement, which returned to the streets eight years after the start of its protests against high fuel prices and the cost of living, as well as the conditions of public schools.
In Paris, police used tear gas and water cannons during confrontations with groups of demonstrators, some of whom threw stones at security forces and set off fireworks, according to Agence France-Presse reporters.
The demonstrations led to the closure of major roads and a number of metro stations in central Paris, as the authorities banned protest gatherings in areas including the vicinity of government buildings, the Champs-Elysees Street, and train stations.
In Marseille, the second largest city in France, protesters stormed the municipal building after using security barriers to storm its entrance, and one of them wrote an anarchist symbol on one of the walls, before the police intervened to remove them.
“We are storming the Bastille,” one of the demonstrators chanted, referring to the storming of the castle bearing that name during the French Revolution of 1789.
Protesters also targeted a police building in the city, while other cities, including Lyon and Rennes, witnessed confrontations and protest gatherings, during which some participants set up roadblocks.
The organizers of the movements announced the planning of more than 600 demonstrations and protest events across France, and called on students, teachers, workers, farmers and retirees to participate.
Saturday's protests come after weeks of demonstrations started by high school students in late September, demanding improved education conditions and increased spending on schools.
The protest movement was launched from schools in poor suburbs north of Paris, amid complaints of a shortage of teachers and employees, overcrowded classrooms, and deteriorating school buildings.
The protests quickly expanded to include all parts of the country, as students closed the entrances to hundreds of schools, before trade unions and other protest groups joined their movement.
Student demonstrations over the past weeks witnessed violent confrontations with the police, which sparked criticism of the security forces’ methods of dealing with protesters.
A 15-year-old boy lost one of his hands after he picked up a stun grenade during the protests, while the Police Oversight Authority is investigating complaints regarding its members’ use of violence against demonstrators.
A student named Aude, who participated in the Marseille protests, told AFP: “We are here to protest against the weak resources allocated to education, and against police violence.”
In addition to educational demands, the movement expanded to include objection to the rise in fuel prices, the cost of living, and the decline in purchasing power.
Frank, a government employee in his forties who participated in a demonstration in central France, said: “At the end of the month, I have nothing left. Prices are rising, but wages are not rising. We can no longer bear it, we are suffocating.”
These protests come in light of the economic pressures facing France, with the rise in fuel prices and the decline in purchasing power since 2024, coinciding with the government’s efforts to reduce public debt, which is expected to exceed 120 percent of the gross domestic product next year.
French President Emmanuel Macron called for "calm and respect" on the eve of the protests, affirming the right of citizens to demonstrate, but stressing that exercising this right must be accompanied by "respect for persons and property."
The presidential spokeswoman said on Wednesday that Macron believes that the students’ demands are “legitimate,” but he is concerned about them being exploited by political forces.
Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu accused the left-wing France Proud party of exploiting the student protests for electoral gains, saying that the movement no longer resembled a student protest, but had turned into an "urban violence movement."
