France: 410,000 march nationwide according to the Interior Ministry, 800,000 according to the CGT; Nuñez reports nearly 1,000 arrests as clashes follow the marches
Saturday's second national day of protests over school funding and living costs was largely calm during the marches, officials said, but police used tear gas and water cannon in Paris, Lyon, Marseille, Bordeaux and Lille as crowds dispersed. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said nearly 1,000 people had been arrested.
About 410,000 people took part in protests across France on Saturday 24 October, according to the Interior Ministry, while the CGT union put the figure at 800,000, franceinfo reported. In Paris, the police prefecture counted 110,000 marchers and the CGT 250,000. The protests, over school funding and the cost of living, were the second national day of action in a week, AP reported.
Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said on Saturday evening that “the marches went well”, but that groups had broken away from them to commit violence and “attack the security forces”, including about 500 people in Paris. He said there had been “nearly a thousand” arrests during the day and that the number was expected to rise, compared with 389 at the same point last Saturday. He said some shops had been looted in several cities.
The Paris march, which left Porte d’Italie at 2pm local time (12:00 GMT) on a route imposed by the police prefecture and upheld by the administrative court, was peaceful for most of the day. Near its end at Porte de Vincennes, some protesters threw objects and police responded with tear gas and water cannon, AP reported. BFMTV reported 64 arrests in Paris, with 40 people held in custody.
Police also used tear gas in Lyon, where about 10,000 people gathered in several unauthorised marches despite a ban, and in Marseille and Bordeaux, while water cannon were deployed in Lille, franceinfo reported. The Toulouse prefecture said a 20-year-old man was seriously injured in the hand during clashes. In Nantes, police said 41 people were detained over violence at undeclared gatherings, the BBC reported. Nuñez said a far-right group in Nice had tried to act in place of the police to protect shops and that officers had to intervene.
About 70,000 police and gendarmes were deployed for the day. The unions have called a national strike and protest day for Wednesday 5 November.
See also: France: 70,000 police and gendarmes to be deployed for Saturday protests.
Sources
- Manifestations du 24 octobre : 410 000 personnes ont défilé en France d'après le ministère de l'Intérieur, 800 000 selon la CGT (live) · franceinfo
- Police and protesters clash in Paris as an estimated 410,000 demonstrate across France · AP
- French protests: Clashes erupt in Paris and other cities after thousands join mostly peaceful demonstrations (live) · BBC News
- Manifestation du 24 octobre: 64 interpellations à Paris, 40 personnes placées en garde à vue · BFMTV
- Manifestations du 24 octobre: 135 interpellations recensées à 13h · BFMTV
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