Hundreds of thousands of French citizens protested nationwide as police heightened security measures. Initial clashes occurred at some locations, with nearly 1,000 protesters arrested.
Foreign news agencies reported that hundreds of thousands in France took part in a second nationwide protest on Saturday, 24 Oct 2026, opposing the high cost of living and inflation driven by rising fuel prices, while the government deployed forces to prevent riots similar to those of the previous week.
The French Interior Ministry estimated about 410,000 people marched nationwide, with over 110,000 in Paris alone. Meanwhile, the CGT labor union, a leading organizer, claimed nearly double that figure at 800,000, including an estimated 250,000 in Paris.
Initially peaceful, the protests grew increasingly violent over time. Police in several major cities used tear gas and water cannons to disperse crowds after protesters surrounded officers, threw objects, and erected wooden barricades on the streets.
Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez revealed that nearly 1,000 people were arrested nationwide and that this number is expected to rise.
In Paris, near "Porte de Vincennes," a historic city gate, protesters threw objects at riot police and set up temporary barricades on the road.
In Bordeaux, police warned people to avoid "Place de la Bourse" after protesters dressed in black, concealing their faces, dismantled wooden boards from buildings to build barricades, threw objects, and attacked officers.
At the same time, police used tear gas to break up protests in Lyon and Marseille, with students in Lyon reporting heavy tear gas clouds making visibility nearly impossible.
In Nice, despite an official ban on protests that day (24 Oct), over 2,000 people gathered, leading to clashes between far-right and far-left protesters. This resulted in 63 arrests, two injured police officers, and three protesters with minor injuries.
Nevertheless, although violence occurred, the situation did not escalate to the level of the previous week's riots, during which protesters set fire to several key buildings, looted over 2,000 shops, and more than 2,700 were arrested.
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Source:bbc