In France, hundreds of thousands again took to the streets, police used tear gas
In France, hundreds of thousands of people again took to the streets in protest, reportedly against the rising cost of living and insufficient funding for education. On Saturday evening in Paris, police used water cannons and tear gas against demonstrators. On the eve, authorities introduced a series of restrictions on holding demonstrations to prevent new unrest, writes Euronews.
Demonstration in Paris. Photo: AP Photo/Thibault Camus
Initially, the protest in the French capital proceeded relatively peacefully. However, groups of aggressive young people who joined the tail end of the demonstrators' column clashed with police, pelting law enforcement officers with stones and other objects.
Demonstrations took place throughout France. Significant police forces were deployed to the demonstration sites to maintain order. Authorities sought to prevent a repeat of the violence that accompanied the previous week's protests. Clashes were also recorded in Lyon, Lille, Marseille, Montpellier, Nantes, and Toulouse.
According to organizers, more than 800,000 people participated in the demonstrations nationwide, including 250,000 in Paris. Authorities estimated the total number of participants at 410,000.
In Lyon, already in the middle of the day, special police riot units used tear gas to disperse about 150 demonstrators who were trying to block a road near the city center. Restrictions on holding demonstrations were in effect in this area.
“The police are indeed very mobile: they come and disperse marches even before they manage to form,” said a 21-year-old student who participated in the protest.
By evening in Lyon, cars and dumpsters were burning again.
During mass protests last Saturday, serious clashes with police and outbreaks of violence occurred in several cities. Rioters set fire to buildings and cars, while masked individuals smashed shop windows and looted stores. In Paris, the unrest continued on Sunday, as masked young people erected burning barricades and police advanced on the crowd.
For this weekend, French authorities increased security measures. Many businesses decided to take precautions in advance: they covered their shop windows with wooden boards or did not open at all on that day.
The dissatisfaction of trade unions and left-wing politicians was also sparked by the last-minute change to the planned Parisian march route. They fear that such a decision could divide the columns of demonstrators and provoke new unrest.
Initially, the police had approved a route between Bastille and Nation squares in eastern Paris. However, on Friday, the permit was revoked, and it was proposed to move the march to the southeastern outskirts of the city — from Porte d'Italie to Porte de Vincennes.
South of the capital, authorities also heightened attention to the congress of the far-right "National Rally" party, taking place in Orléans. Party leaders Marine Le Pen and Jordan Bardella are participating in the forum. The event attracted both supporters and opponents of the party, increasing concerns about possible clashes between them.
Police reported that their officers were deployed at various entry points to the city and in the center of Orléans. They are conducting checks and confiscating items that could be used to disrupt public order.
Around noon, law enforcement officers reported the confiscation of numerous items which, they claimed, could have been intended for violent acts or to create a hostile atmosphere. Such incidents were recorded, in particular, in Orléans, Pau, Rennes, Marseille, and Tours.