Bangla Press Desk: Hundreds of thousands of people have taken to the streets across France in a new wave of protests. Officials reported that approximately 1,000 people were arrested during Saturday’s demonstrations. While most of the protests remained peaceful, clashes broke out between demonstrators and police in Paris and several other cities as night fell.
In some cities, police deployed tear gas and water cannons to disperse the crowds. In Marseille, barricades set up on the streets were set on fire, while in Bordeaux, protesters dismantled wooden panels from the exterior of a shop to construct street barricades.
However, authorities have so far managed to avoid the scale of chaos, widespread violence, vandalism, and looting seen in France last weekend—events that are now considered among the most severe instances of unrest in the country’s modern history.
According to the French Interior Ministry, approximately 410,000 people participated in Saturday’s protests, though labor unions claim the number was closer to 800,000.
Around 70,000 police officers were deployed to prevent a recurrence of the violence that had previously erupted during protests against the rising cost of living and the deteriorating state of educational institutions. Restrictions were also imposed in several cities. Last week’s protests saw demonstrators outnumbering police, leading to the looting of hundreds of businesses and the setting of fires to various buildings.
Earlier this week, French President Emmanuel Macron ordered that no protests be permitted unless organized by recognized labor unions. In recent days, hundreds of individuals have been sentenced to prison following expedited judicial proceedings for their involvement in acts of vandalism, arson, and looting.
On Saturday in Paris, clashes between protesters and riot police broke out toward the end of a peaceful march that stretched from Porte d'Italie to Porte de Vincennes. A specialized police unit—typically tasked with combating organized crime and terrorism—also participated in the operation.
During the clashes, some protesters were seen constructing makeshift barricades and hurling objects at the police. Meanwhile, when a group of masked youths began smashing the windows of a car showroom, police used batons to disperse them. French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez told the news agency AFP that several thousand hardline activists had gathered at the rear of the march; approximately 500 of them have been identified as participants in the rioting.
In the southern port city of Marseille, trash bins were set on fire, and metal sheets were used to block roads. A law enforcement vehicle was seen navigating through a burning barricade in the city.
In the city of Bordeaux, protesters dressed in black and wearing masks dismantled wooden planks from a building to construct barricades on the streets.
In Lyon, police deployed tear gas canisters to disperse a crowd that had gathered in an area where such assemblies had been prohibited by local authorities.
A protester in France’s third-largest city remarked, "There were about 150 of us—mostly secondary school and university students. Almost immediately, tear gas was fired. It became nearly impossible to see anything on the street."
Later in the day, Interior Minister Nuñez reported that approximately 1,000 people had been arrested in connection with the protests, adding that this figure could potentially rise.
The minister also noted that two individuals sustained serious injuries during the demonstrations—one from the southwestern city of Toulouse, and the other from Clermont-Ferrand in central France.
Jelly, a woman who participated in a peaceful protest in Paris, told the BBC that people have been "deeply frustrated" and have been "suffering greatly" since Macron came to power.
The 26-year-old said, "They keep us silenced. They take our money and impose heavy taxes, yet we have no say. We have taken to the streets today because we have endured this for too long. Things have gone too far."
Two teenage protesters, who wore masks and wished to remain anonymous, also stated that their generation feels disillusioned and abandoned by the government.
Regarding the looting that took place last Saturday, one of them remarked, "I don't think looting is right at all, but poverty and police violence are the underlying causes."
He added, "The protests will end only when our demands are addressed. We want real change in France."
Meanwhile, in the north-central city of Orléans, approximately 13,000 people gathered for a rally directed against the far-right National Rally party. The event concluded peacefully.
Protests across Europe
Similar to the situation in France, large-scale protests took place in several other European cities on Saturday. In Tirana, the capital of Albania, riot police used tear gas to disperse thousands of anti-government protesters. Clashes were also reported in Brussels, the capital of Belgium.
In Milan, northern Italy, a major security operation was launched, with hundreds of soldiers deployed alongside police to prevent protesters from gathering. There were concerns about potential violence, following incidents last week in which some protesters engaged in arson, smashed windows, and looted shops.
Last weekend, approximately 550,000 people across France took part in protests against rising fuel prices and the cost of living. Public anger had already been intensifying following weeks of student-led demonstrations.
Widespread chaos erupted in the wake of those protests, leading to the arrest of more than 2,500 people. Although the protests began peacefully, they later descended into violence, looting, and widespread destruction. Reports indicate that over 2,000 shops and businesses across France sustained direct damage.
The country’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI) has estimated the damage to be in the hundreds of millions of euros. According to an AFP report, one protester lost a hand after being struck by a grenade used by police for crowd control. Additionally, nearly 1,000 police officers were injured.
To bring the situation under control, French authorities were eventually forced to impose nighttime curfews in Paris and several other cities.
With the French presidential election scheduled to take place in six months, several leading contenders in the race have placed the blame for the ongoing unrest on President Macron and his cabinet. Source: BBC
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