France Records Third Weekend of Protests Over Living Costs, With Arrests in Several Cities

French Interior Ministry figures put the number of demonstrators at approximately 320,000 nationwide on 31 October 2026, including about 70,000 in Paris. The marches formed the third consecutive Saturday of large-scale protests driven by concerns over living costs, public services and government policy. Youth organisations offered higher estimates, approaching half a million.

Most of the marches remained orderly, but clashes developed in the evening in Paris, Lyon, Marseille and Toulouse. Police reported more than 560 arrests by Saturday night. Officers used tear gas and water cannon in several locations. A riot-police officer in Paris was struck by a Molotov cocktail. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez described the violence as extraordinary and said one incident amounted to attempted murder. Approximately 70,000 police and gendarmes were deployed.

The protests began with complaints from high-school students about school conditions and expanded to include broader grievances over inflation, fuel prices and the direction of President Emmanuel Macron’s government. Some participants marched in Halloween costumes. Jean-Luc Mélenchon of France Unbowed joined the Paris march. Student groups announced plans for school and university blockades the following week and a further day of action on 5 November.

Turnout was lower than the previous two Saturdays, when estimates reached 410,000 and 550,000. Authorities had authorised a route in Paris that avoided the central shopping districts. Hard-left activists and masked groups were present at the rear of some marches and engaged in property damage and confrontations with police. Calm returned in most cities by nightfall, though localised incidents continued.

The demonstrations take place less than six months before the next presidential election. Marine Le Pen of the National Rally leads most opinion polls. The sustained weekend mobilisations have kept the question of living costs and public-order response at the centre of political debate.