France Detains 980 Protesters as Clashes Return to Major Cities

Police in France arrested 980 people on Saturday as hundreds of thousands took to the streets in a new wave of protests. The demonstrations, which focused on the cost of living and school conditions, started peacefully but turned violent in several cities as evening fell. Officials deployed 70,000 officers to prevent a repeat of the chaos seen just a week earlier, when riots caused widespread damage.

The interior ministry estimated the national turnout at 410,000, while trade unions claimed the figure was closer to 800,000. The government had decreed earlier in the week that only union-organized marches would be permitted. This rule aimed to limit the number of participants after the previous weekend saw over 2,500 arrests and damage estimated in the hundreds of millions of euros by Chambers of Commerce and Industry.

In Paris, trouble began after a march from Porte d'Italie toward Porte de Vincennes ended. Police used an elite unit typically assigned to counter-terrorism to manage the crowd. Protesters built barricades and threw objects at officers, who charged with batons at groups of masked youths breaking windows at a car dealership. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said several thousand radical activists gathered at the back of the march, including about 500 identified rioters.

Violence also occurred in other major cities. In Marseille, demonstrators set fire to barricades and blocked streets with metal sheets. In Lyon, police fired tear gas at a crowd in an area declared off-limits by local authorities. One student protester described the scene, saying there were around 150 of them and visibility was poor due to the gas. In Bordeaux, people were seen removing boards from a shop, while in Toulouse and Clermont-Ferrand, two people were seriously injured.

Nuñez stated late Saturday that the arrest count would likely increase. He noted that fast-track court hearings in recent days have resulted in hundreds of jail sentences for vandalism, arson, and looting. The government is using these legal measures to deter future disruptions ahead of presidential elections scheduled for six months from now.

Protesters expressed deep frustration with the current administration. A 26-year-old woman named Zelie in Paris said people were suffering greatly. Two masked teenagers described their generation as feeling abandoned by the government. One of them acknowledged that looting was not ideal but blamed poverty and police violence for the unrest. They stated the protests would continue until their demands were met.

The movement extended beyond France's borders. In Tirana, Albania, riot police used tear gas against anti-government demonstrators. Clashes were also reported in Brussels, Belgium. In Milan, Italy, hundreds of soldiers and police blocked gathering spots to prevent a repeat of the violence seen in Paris the previous week. These international reactions show the economic and political strain spreading across Europe.

The current unrest follows a week of severe disorder that affected over 2,000 shops and businesses. About 1,000 police officers were injured during those events, including one demonstrator who lost a hand to a crowd-control grenade. With major political parties blaming the current government for the instability, the streets have become a key battleground for the upcoming election cycle.