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French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez reported that around 550,000 people joined protests across the country on Saturday, a figure that union officials from the CGT placed closer to 800,000. The minister described an escalation in violence that left 60 law enforcement officers injured, two of them unconscious and hospitalised after confrontations that included fireworks directed at police lines. According to Nuñez the unrest reflected targeted actions by far-left elements intent on inciting disorder rather than advancing the core grievances over school conditions and inflation. Officials had anticipated large turnouts after weeks of student-led actions but condemned the fringe violence that overshadowed peaceful marches in many locations.
In Paris, a largely peaceful afternoon procession gave way to clashes around Place de la République where riot police deployed tear gas and water cannons against masked groups who hurled projectiles and set vehicles alight. Reuters correspondents observed black-clad protesters smashing shop windows and looting sports stores and banks while authorities struggled to contain pockets of violence into the evening. The capital saw numerous cars torched and streets left damaged, prompting the city mayor to describe whole neighbourhoods as devastated by the organised vandalism. Police tactics shifted repeatedly as they sought to prevent further advances toward luxury districts such as the Champs-Elysées.
Similar scenes unfolded in regional centres, with a tourism office set ablaze in Lyon where firefighters faced obstruction from hostile crowds, according to reports compiled by AFP journalists. In Marseille protesters briefly stormed the town hall, defacing walls with anarchist symbols before police ejected them, while Limoges suffered a major fire at its city hall that caused part of the roof to collapse. Looting targeted supermarkets, pharmacies and high-end boutiques in cities including Nice, Lille, Bordeaux and Strasbourg, with groups systematically disabling security cameras before ransacking premises. Guardian reporting highlighted how these incidents extended beyond the student focus to incorporate longstanding yellow-vest anger over economic pressures.
One protester in Saint-Etienne lost a hand to a police crowd-control grenade, an injury that echoed a similar case involving a 15-year-old in Lens earlier in the month, France 24 noted in its coverage. The interior ministry placed the national arrest total above 1,200, the majority of them adults, while acknowledging that further detentions were expected in coming days. Al Jazeera correspondents in Paris described how rapid police cordons turned what began as peaceful gatherings into tense standoffs that quickly escalated. Medical services treated numerous cases of tear-gas exposure and minor trauma on both sides of the confrontations.
The demonstrations built upon three weeks of high-school blockades and marches that have already produced thousands of arrests and hundreds of injuries nationwide, CNN data showed in its rolling coverage. Students have demanded more teachers, repairs to dilapidated buildings and an end to what they term police brutality during earlier protests, grievances now amplified by trade unions and pensioners concerned about broader austerity. RFI interviews with participants captured sentiments such as one 19-year-old’s declaration that the cost of living had become unbearable while schools suffered chronic staff shortages. The convergence with yellow-vest networks has widened the movement beyond education into a broader critique of government spending priorities.
Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu characterised the violence as of extreme intensity and convened emergency talks with President Emmanuel Macron, who publicly called for calm and respect for property ahead of elections in six months. The unrest has deepened political uncertainty in a country already navigating fiscal constraints, with officials promising swift prosecutions for those involved in arson and looting. Reuters assessments indicated that while most demonstrators remained non-violent, the fringe actions risked undermining public support for the legitimate demands raised over recent weeks. Further marches are anticipated in coming days as organisers assess the impact of Saturday’s disorder.
