Demonstrations of October 24: first tensions erupt in several large cities, mobilizations go smoothly in a large part of France

Several tens of thousands of people are marching across France this Saturday, on the occasion of a new day of mobilization against the high cost of living. If clashes begin to break out in certain cities, these incidents remain on the fringes.

If the demonstrations are taking place calmly across a majority of the territory, the situation is starting to become tense in several large cities, such as Lyon, Marseille and Lille. In the capital of Gaul, some 10,000 people gathered, despite the ban on demonstrations, in several wild processions, dispersed with tear gas. The city center is locked down by the police, who warn that “any gathering will be dispersed”. Clashes notably took place between police and demonstrators in the Saxe-Gambetta district. In Marseille, the police also used tear gas against a procession, just like in Bordeaux. Water cannons were also deployed in Lille.

Change of route. In Paris, the procession set off at 2 p.m. from the Porte d'Italie to reach the Porte de Vincennes, after the police headquarters modified the route defined the day before with the inter-union association on Friday evening. So far, there has been no overflow.

135 arrests at midday. During a press briefing at midday, the Minister of the Interior, Laurent Nuñez, reported, at 1 p.m., "135 arrests throughout the national territory", "most of which are the result of flow control" carried out by the police. At this time, “35,000 demonstrators” were counted, compared to 60,000 last Saturday at the same time, he continued.

Laurent Nuñez sends a message of “support” to his troops. The Minister of the Interior spoke in Vincennes, near the arrival point of the route of the Parisian mobilization authorized by the police headquarters. “We have significant calls for disruption, from political movements or quite simply from delinquents,” he declared. “I know that you act within a legal and regulatory framework, I know that everything you do is proportionate,” he added.

Numerous bans on demonstrations and restricted access areas. In Marseille, the prefecture finally granted authorization “by way of exception” to the inter-union demonstration. In Lyon, demonstrations are prohibited in a large part of the city center. In Limoges, where the town hall was burned down on October 17, the administrative court suspended on Saturday morning the order taken by the prefecture to prohibit gatherings of more than ten people, as well as that establishing a curfew in certain streets.