Nearly 1,000 arrested in second weekend of French protests

French police arrested "nearly 1,000" people on Saturday, October 24, during a second weekend of nationwide protests over the cost of living and school funding, Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said. He added that the number "will rise" as more figures come in. The Interior Ministry estimated turnout at 410,000, with 110,000 in Paris. The CGT union put the totals at about 800,000 nationwide and 250,000 in the capital.dw.com+1

Nunez said the marches "passed off well." But he said police later faced "an extremely elevated level of violence" from black-clad "ultra-left" groups. Overall, he called the day more "positive" than a week earlier, and said looting was on a "far smaller" scale.latimes.com

Clashes after peaceful marches

Authorities had moved the Paris march to the city's southeastern edge. It ended in clashes near Porte de Vincennes, where police fired tear gas and used water cannon. Nunez said about 500 of the "several thousand radical activists" at the back of the march were identified as rioters, and the clashes lasted about two hours. Two people were seriously injured, one in Toulouse and one in Clermont-Ferrand.apnews.com+1

Police also fired tear gas in Marseille, Lyon, Lille, Bordeaux, Toulouse, Montpellier and Nantes. In Nantes, thousands of protesters broke through police lines to reach the city centre. Reuters reported that a much larger security presence seemed to have prevented a repeat of the previous weekend's unrest, despite isolated clashes.rmb.reuters.com+1

Heavy security and bans

The government sent 70,000 police officers and gendarmes onto the streets, 10,000 more than a week earlier, after admitting it had underestimated the October 17 unrest. Rallies were banned in Lyon, Nice and Montpellier, and the Louvre, Orsay Museum and Grand Palais closed for the day. Unions and left-wing leaders criticized the restrictions.politico.com+2

Last week's rioting ended with hundreds of shops looted and 2,700 arrests. Nunez offered to resign over it, but Macron turned him down.apnews.com+1

A movement that keeps growing

The protests started last month over staff shortages at a single high school and have since spread across the country. Students are demanding better schools and workers want higher wages. Energy prices in September were 21.3% higher than a year earlier.apnews.com

The unrest comes six months before a presidential election in which Marine Le Pen leads the polls. Her National Rally opened a congress in Orléans on Saturday, and thousands of people marched against it. The Yellow Vests have called for more protests on October 31. Jean-Luc Mélenchon, who marched in Paris, said Macron "is going to understand that this is going to repeat itself every week".rfi.fr