France Deploys 70,000 Police as Protests Return; 135 Held

At least 135 people had been arrested by early afternoon on Saturday (Oct 24) as a second wave of France protests over the cost of living and poor school conditions got under way, with more than 70,000 police officers and gendarmes on the streets, Al Jazeera reported.

A variety of weapons were also seized, the report said, while police described the situation as calm. The movement began in mid-September, when high-school students blockaded schools over run-down buildings, teacher shortages and the Parcoursup university admissions system.

France Protests Draw Heavy Police Presence

Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez announced the deployment, which is 20 per cent larger than the previous weekend and backed by armoured vehicles, water cannons and helicopters. The RAID police unit is involved but is not carrying out crowd control.

In Paris, thousands marched peacefully from Porte d’Italie to Porte de Vincennes. The police prefecture had withdrawn the agreed Bastille-to-Nation route on Friday evening, citing the risk of violence, prompting unions to launch a legal challenge, Euronews reported. A police intelligence estimate obtained by Le Monde put the expected Paris turnout at 60,000 to 120,000, including 300 to 600 potentially violent activists.

At least 24 metro stations were shut, along with the Louvre, Orsay and Picasso museums and the Grand Palais. Art Basel Paris cancelled its weekend programme.

Bans and Curfews in Several Cities

In Lyon, police fired tear gas to disperse about 150 protesters outside Lyon 3 University, in an area where demonstrations had been banned; the administrative court rejected appeals against the ban on Friday evening. Rallies were banned from downtown Montpellier, Rouen and Nice, while Toulouse, Limoges and Saint-Etienne imposed curfews or limits on gatherings. A union march in Marseille went ahead on a modified route.

The previous weekend, more than half a million people marched and more than 2,000 were taken into custody, according to the reports.

Thousands March Against Far-Right Congress

In Orleans, thousands protested against the National Rally (RN) party congress, where nearly 3,000 police and gendarmes were deployed and Mayor Serge Grouard imposed a night curfew for children under 15, Euronews reported. “We have come to tell the far right… that we are not afraid,” said Saint-Denis mayor Bally Bagayoko. The congress ends on Sunday (Oct 25) with a rally launching Marine Le Pen’s 2027 presidential campaign.

On Friday, President Emmanuel Macron met student representatives for the first time and promised more teachers and an overhaul of Parcoursup. Students, who want a 10-billion-euro plan, vowed to keep protesting, and the Yellow Vests have called a protest for Oct 31.

#latestmalaysia

Trappes Shooting: Gunman Kills One, Wounds Four Near Paris