Crowds Dispersed with Tear Gas and Water Cannons as Clashes Intensify Toward End of Rallies 

Protests led by students and labor unions broke out across France on Saturday, with demonstrators rallying against insufficient public sector investments and soaring living costs. 

Despite strict restrictions imposed by authorities to prevent a recurrence of recent violence, which included the deployment of 70,000 police officers alongside helicopters and armored vehicles, hundreds of thousands of people still poured into the streets. 

Earlier, President Emmanuel Macron announced a policy banning all demonstrations except for officially authorized union marches. Although regional authorities issued total or partial bans in various areas, crowds defied the orders and flocked to multiple locations. 

The Ministry of the Interior estimated the turnout at 410,000 nationwide, including 110,000 in Paris. Meanwhile, the General Confederation of Labor (CGT), the organizing union, reported that 800,000 people participated, with 250,000 in the capital alone. 

While participation dropped compared to the previous week—when police estimated 55,000 (note: 550,000) protesters turned out—and clashes were generally evaluated as significantly milder than before, sporadic confrontations still erupted between police and demonstrators in Paris and other regions. 

According to AFP, Reuters, AP, and other news outlets, the demonstrations remained relatively calm during daylight hours before turning tense late in the afternoon, marked by the use of tear gas, water cannons, and the burning of bicycles and scooters in the streets. 

Interior Minister Laurent Nunez told BFM TV that nearly 1,000 people had been arrested in connection with Saturday's protests, with the number expected to rise. Nunez criticized what he termed "black-clad ultra-left factions" for escalating the level of violence.

Earlier in the day, police detained 135 individuals from the morning onward, seizing a large cache of banned items. The confiscated goods included metal ball bearings, lead shot, firecrackers, slingshots, bladed weapons, pellet guns, gas masks, cutting tools, and batons. 

Minister Nunez reported that two individuals sustained serious injuries—one in Toulouse and another in Clermont-Ferrand—though he did not provide specific details regarding the circumstances. Local media reported that the victim in Toulouse suffered a severed finger. 

In Paris, the union march was originally permitted to start from the Place de la Bastille, but Paris police issued a last-minute order redirecting the procession toward Porte d'Italie in the southeastern periphery, far away from the city center.

Union representative Muriel Guilbert criticized the move to reporters, calling it a "shameful act" by President Emmanuel Macron intended to block protesters from demonstrating where they wished.

Protesters marched carrying banners reading: "If we burn, you burn with us," "The earth is burning and our future is burning with it," and "We've had enough."

The "Yellow Vest" movement announced further demonstrations for next Saturday, October 31. A spokesperson for the group told reporters at the Place de la Bastille, "We will demonstrate for the freedom to protest, for the freedom of all of us." 

Jean-Luc Melenchon, leader of the far-left France Unbowed (LFI) party and a presidential candidate, participated in the Paris march, warning, "Macron will find out that these protests are going to repeat themselves every week." 

Clashes broke out as the marches wound down and crowds began to disperse. Minister Nunez stated that a group of "500 rioters" engaged in skirmishes at the rear of the procession lasting for about two hours. 

AFP journalists witnessed police charging at young protesters, deploying tear gas, and swinging batons. 

In Lyon, where demonstrations were completely banned, roughly 10,000 people gathered anyway. Groups roamed the city and attempted to enter buildings, prompting police to deploy tear gas to disperse the crowd. 

A 21-year-old student told AFP, "The police are moving around very rapidly. They show up to break up protests even before they can properly form."

Police helicopters patrolled the skies while armored vehicles and riot police vans lined the streets. 

Protests calling for the protection of public services and the realization of financial and social justice continued in Nantes. Police fired water cannons to block protesters attempting to cross the Loire River bridge into a restricted protest zone, while some demonstrators retaliated by launching small objects at police. 

In Marseille, police estimated 17,000 participants, while the CGT claimed a turnout of 100,000.

In Lille, Toulouse, Clermont-Ferrand, Grenoble, and Nice, police declared the areas off-limits and demanded dispersal. When protesters refused, officers resorted to tear gas and water cannons. 

In Toulouse, where police estimated 26,500 people turned out, a protester was seen kicking away a tear gas canister. Ella, a 17-year-old high school student, said, "These days, you're afraid of what might happen to you just for joining a protest. But we cannot give up."

In Bordeaux, marches continued among thousands of participants despite heavy rain.

Meanwhile, in Orléans—where the National Rally (RN), the far-right party led by presidential frontrunner Marine Le Pen, held its two-day convention ending Sunday—counter-protests took place. 

Demonstrators chanted slogans against both President Macron and Le Pen, shouting, "Macron resign, Le Pen to prison." Banners read: "Youth say 'No' to the National Rally" and "Hotter than fascists." 

Police estimated the anti-far-right turnout at 13,000, while organizers claimed 26,000 people took part.

[ⓒ Global Economic Times. 무단전재-재배포 금지]