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| Europe | |
| France Erupts Again: 400,000 Protesters Flood Streets, Clash With Police | |
| 2026-10-25 | |
| [NewsMax] More than 400,000 people demonstrated across France on Saturday, with clashes erupting in several cities despite the deployment of 70,000 security personnel and restrictions imposed by President Emmanuel Macron’s government. Newsmax correspondent Trent Murray reported that France’s Interior Ministry estimated nationwide turnout at 410,000, including 110,000 in Paris. Organizers disputed those figures, claiming nearly 800,000 demonstrators participated, including 250,000 in the capital.
Near Paris’ Porte de Vincennes, demonstrators hurled projectiles at officers, while police fired tear gas and directed powerful jets of water into crowds. Authorities reported that more than 500 rioters were attacking law enforcement officers near the demonstration’s conclusion. In Marseille, masked youths engaged officers in running confrontations through narrow streets, setting dumpsters ablaze to obstruct pursuing police. The violence unfolded despite a major security operation involving armored vehicles, helicopters, specialized riot units, and thousands of officers positioned throughout major French cities. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez had pledged a forceful response following last weekend's destructive unrest, when approximately 3,000 businesses were damaged or looted nationwide. Many Jewish-owned businesses were said to be targeted. Macron has blamed radical far-left groups for much of the previous violence, accusing ultra-left extremists of seeking to undermine the French republic. Authorities also reported confiscating improvised weapons, fireworks, metal projectiles, and slingshots ahead of Saturday’s demonstrations. The government attempted to contain Saturday’s unrest by banning certain demonstrations in Lyon, Nice, and Montpellier while restricting the Paris march to southeastern neighborhoods, away from the capital’s commercial and tourist centers. But those restrictions failed to prevent widespread mobilization. Approximately 26,000 people demonstrated in Toulouse, according to local authorities, while roughly 10,000 marched in Lyon despite restrictions. Police used tear gas in several cities, including Lyon and Clermont-Ferrand. The protests originated in student anger over deteriorating school conditions and teacher shortages but have expanded into a broader revolt over soaring living costs, wages, pensions, and public services. Energy prices were 21.3% higher in September than a year earlier, adding to mounting financial pressures on French households, according to France’s national statistics agency, INSEE. Far-left leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon condemned the police response, accusing officers of firing tear gas indiscriminately at demonstrators in Paris. Meanwhile, thousands of counterprotesters gathered in Orléans, where Marine Le Pen's National Rally party was holding a convention ahead of next year's presidential election. The unrest presents another major challenge for Macron during the final months of his presidency. Major Paris museums closed Saturday, businesses boarded up their windows, and authorities remained on heightened alert. As darkness descended, scattered confrontations continued, and security forces prepared for the possibility of further violence overnight. Organizers have already called for additional demonstrations Oct. 31, raising the prospect of another weekend of nationwide disruption. | |
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