Hundreds of Thousands Protest Across France Amid Heavy Security Presence

Abdul Saboor/Reuters

Protesters marching in Paris.

Hundreds of thousands of demonstrators took to the streets across France on Saturday as a significantly reinforced security presence appeared to prevent a repeat of the previous weekend’s unrest, despite isolated clashes in several cities.

Around 110,000 people marched peacefully through Paris, according to police figures, waving flags and protesting against the rising cost of living and growing inequality.

“Down with the state, the police and the fascists,” the crowds chanted.

Towards the end of the march, police fired tear gas and used water cannon to disperse small groups of hooded youths. However, the violence was considerably less severe than the previous Saturday, when looters and vandals caused widespread damage in the capital.

Clashes also broke out in Lyon, Bordeaux and Grenoble, while police fired volleys of tear gas at demonstrators in Clermont-Ferrand, Lille and Nice.

In Marseille, France’s second-largest city, youths dragged large metal sheets into the road to block traffic, set fire to rubbish bins and threw rocks and bottles at riot police. The confrontations continued into the evening.

The Interior Ministry said 410,000 people had taken part in protests nationwide, while trade unions estimated the turnout was twice as high.

Authorities deployed 70,000 police officers and gendarmes, 10,000 more than the previous week, after acknowledging that they had underestimated the scale of the earlier unrest.

“We have to be ultra, ultra responsive,” Interior Minister Laurent Nunez told reporters, accusing far-left activists and criminal gangs of attempting to incite violence.

Nunez said police had arrested 135 people nationwide by early afternoon. Many arrests followed pre-emptive searches that, according to the minister, uncovered fireworks, ball bearings and other items that could be used as weapons.

Much of central Paris resembled a city under lockdown, with shopkeepers boarding up their premises, museums closing and more than 20 metro stations shutting their doors.

Business groups urged retailers to remain closed after thousands of shops and businesses were damaged or looted across France the previous weekend.

“There are hardly any customers, so it’s not really worth staying open,” said Oskar, manager of a Kiton boutique in Paris.

Several of the capital’s best-known cultural institutions, including the Louvre, the Musée d’Orsay and the Paris Opera, closed for the day as a precaution, disappointing tourists.

“Everything’s boarded up and we’re not quite sure where we should be,” said Xavier Dolliole, a visitor from New Orleans in the United States.

The nationwide unrest began last month with small student demonstrations in the suburbs of Paris over school conditions. The protests subsequently broadened into a wider movement against the country’s economic situation and prompted demonstrations in neighbouring countries.

In Brussels on Saturday, Belgian police used tear gas and pepper spray during clashes with anti-government demonstrators. Protests also took place in several Italian cities for a second consecutive weekend.

Many demonstrators accused the French government of overreacting, particularly after soldiers were deployed to patrol the Champs-Élysées, the capital’s prestigious boulevard lined with luxury shops and restaurants.

The first authorised march of the day passed peacefully in Orléans, about 120 km (75 miles) south of Paris. Demonstrators gathered to protest against Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally, which was holding a party congress in the city.

Tensions had already been heightened by a shooting west of Paris on Friday. A gunman suspected of acting out of Islamophobic hatred killed one person and wounded four others, including a 12-year-old girl.

Source: Reuters



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