{"id":19982,"date":"2026-10-25T11:46:56","date_gmt":"2026-10-25T06:46:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newspulse.com.pk\/en\/?p=19982"},"modified":"2026-10-25T11:46:56","modified_gmt":"2026-10-25T06:46:56","slug":"france-gripped-by-mass-protests-as","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newspulse.com.pk\/en\/2026\/10\/25\/france-gripped-by-mass-protests-as\/","title":{"rendered":"France Gripped by Mass Protests as More Than 410,000 Take to Streets"},"content":{"rendered":"

France Gripped by Mass Protests as More Than 410,000 Take to Streets<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Around 110,000 people demonstrate in Paris as authorities deploy 70,000 police officers; clashes, looting and tear gas reported in several cities, while opposition leader warns of a nationwide general strike.<\/p>\n

PARIS: More than 410,000 people took to the streets across France on Saturday in a second round of demonstrations, with protesters demanding action on the cost-of-living crisis, greater investment in education and improved employment opportunities for young people, according to the French Interior Ministry.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The demonstrations were largely peaceful, officials said, but tensions escalated in several cities, prompting police to use tear gas and water cannons to disperse crowds. Nearly 1,000 people were detained nationwide, Interior Minister Laurent Nu\u00f1ez said, compared with 385 detentions recorded during protests the previous week.<\/p>\n

Around 110,000 demonstrators gathered in Paris, a figure roughly equivalent to the turnout in the French capital<\/a> last weekend. Authorities had launched a major security operation to prevent violence, vandalism and looting after more than half a million people took part in demonstrations across the country the previous Saturday.<\/p>\n

Speaking to reporters, Nu\u00f1ez said the Paris demonstration had proceeded peacefully, as had most marches elsewhere in France. However, he said police had imposed restrictions on protesters’ movements to prevent unauthorised marches and crowds from moving towards city centres.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn certain cities there was some damage or looting of businesses, in very limited numbers,\u201d Nu\u00f1ez said, adding that the level of property damage was considerably lower than during the previous weekend’s demonstrations.<\/p>\n

He also said there had been no targeted attacks on public buildings, including town halls and police stations, of the kind reported during the earlier protests.<\/p>\n

Despite the relatively peaceful nature of most gatherings, the interior minister described the violence faced by security personnel as extremely serious, citing the repeated throwing of projectiles and the firing of mortar-style fireworks.<\/p>\n

Police and security units were expected to remain deployed until late Saturday evening to prevent further disturbances and protect businesses from looting.<\/p>\n

70,000 Police Officers Deployed Nationwide<\/strong><\/p>\n

The French Interior Ministry said approximately 70,000 police officers had been mobilised across the country as part of an extensive security operation for the second consecutive weekend of demonstrations.<\/p>\n

Specialist tactical units, helicopters, armoured vehicles, police dogs and water cannons were placed on standby to respond to potential outbreaks of violence.<\/p>\n

In Paris, thousands of protesters confronted police after a large march reached Porte de Vincennes, the designated endpoint of the demonstration. According to a CNN team at the scene, officers used tear gas and a water cannon to prevent the crowd from moving further.<\/p>\n

The confrontation followed a march attended by an estimated 110,000 people, although the authorities said most of the demonstration had remained peaceful.<\/p>\n

The security operation reflected concerns among French officials that demonstrations over economic pressures and political grievances could develop into wider unrest, similar to the disturbances witnessed during the previous weekend.<\/p>\n

Clashes and Looting Reported in Marseille<\/strong><\/p>\n

In Marseille, France’s second-largest city, confrontations between protesters and police were reported as demonstrators launched mortar-style fireworks towards officers during running street clashes.<\/p>\n

French broadcaster BFMTV reported incidents of looting in several parts of the city. A jewellery store was reportedly targeted, with its windows smashed, while a supermarket was also reported to have been pillaged.<\/p>\n

Authorities had not provided a comprehensive account of the damage in all affected areas at the time of the reports.<\/p>\n

In Bordeaux, on France’s Atlantic coast, police used tear gas against demonstrators in the city’s well-known Place de la Bourse. Videos from the area showed masked protesters throwing objects at officers as clouds of tear gas spread across the square.<\/p>\n

In Nice, dozens of far-right activists reportedly attacked people taking part in peaceful demonstrations, according to BFMTV. The incident added to concerns about confrontations between rival groups during the nationwide protests.<\/p>\n

Although officials said the scale of damage was limited compared with the previous week, the incidents demonstrated the continuing challenges facing police as they attempted to manage large crowds across multiple cities.<\/p>\n

M\u00e9lenchon Warns of Nationwide General Strike<\/strong><\/p>\n

The protests also intensified political pressure on President Emmanuel Macron’s government, with Jean-Luc M\u00e9lenchon, leader of the left-wing party La France Insoumise, warning that a nationwide industrial action could take place on November 5 if the government failed to respond to demonstrators’ demands.<\/p>\n

Speaking to BFMTV from the front line of the Paris demonstration, M\u00e9lenchon said a general strike called by the General Confederation of Labour (CGT) was looming over the government.<\/p>\n

\u201cA general strike, called by the CGT, looms over the government for the 5th of November,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The warning raised the prospect that the demonstrations could expand beyond street protests and develop into wider industrial action, potentially involving workers in different sectors.<\/p>\n

Protesters have called for greater public investment in education, more employment opportunities for younger workers and measures to address rising living costs. Their demands reflect broader concerns about economic pressures and the government’s response to public grievances.<\/p>\n

The demonstrations have also placed renewed attention on the government’s ability to maintain public order while addressing the demands of citizens taking to the streets.<\/p>\n

Protests Spread Across Other European Countries<\/strong><\/p>\n

The demonstrations in France took place amid a broader wave of public unrest in several other European countries, where protesters also gathered and police faced incidents of disorder.<\/p>\n

In Italy, businesses in Naples, Rome and Milan boarded up their windows ahead of planned demonstrations. The precautionary measures followed reports of looting during earlier protests.<\/p>\n

In Albania’s capital, Tirana, demonstrators reportedly set fire to rubbish bins and threw stones and tear gas canisters during unrest.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, in Brussels, students held placards and barricaded streets as part of demonstrations. Belgium’s public broadcaster VRT reported that police deployed a water cannon to manage the crowds.<\/p>\n

The incidents across Europe highlighted the challenges confronting authorities as demonstrations, economic grievances and public dissatisfaction converged in several countries.<\/p>\n

Government Faces Pressure as Protests Continue<\/strong><\/p>\n

Saturday’s demonstrations marked another significant test for French security forces and the government as authorities sought to prevent a repeat of the more extensive disturbances reported the previous weekend.<\/p>\n

While the Interior Ministry said violence and property damage had declined compared with the earlier protests, the detention of nearly 1,000 people and reports of clashes in several cities underscored the continuing tensions.<\/p>\n

With a possible nationwide general strike looming on November 5, attention is likely to remain focused on the government’s response to protesters’ demands and whether further demonstrations will lead to additional disruption.<\/p>\n

For now, the protests have placed economic concerns, employment prospects for young people and public investment in education at the centre of France’s political debate, while authorities continue efforts to maintain order across the country.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

France Gripped by Mass Protests as More Than 410,000 Take to Streets Around 110,000 people demonstrate in Paris as authorities deploy 70,000 police officers; clashes, looting and tear gas reported in several cities, while opposition leader warns of a nationwide general strike. PARIS: More than 410,000 people took to the streets across France on Saturday […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":19983,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2297,2299],"tags":[4159],"class_list":["post-19982","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-news","category-world","tag-france-protest"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newspulse.com.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19982","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newspulse.com.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newspulse.com.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newspulse.com.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newspulse.com.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19982"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/newspulse.com.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19982\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19984,"href":"https:\/\/newspulse.com.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19982\/revisions\/19984"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newspulse.com.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19983"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newspulse.com.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19982"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newspulse.com.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19982"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newspulse.com.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19982"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}