Planned cost-of-living protests turn violent across France as police fire tear gas in Paris
Saturday's nationwide cost-of-living protests turned violent as police fired tear gas and water cannon at Place de la République in Paris, with fires in Lyon and City Hall breached in Marseille. At least 166 arrests were reported.
Saturday’s planned cost-of-living protests turned violent as police fired tear gas and water cannon at hooded groups in Place de la République — a sharp escalation from the marches expected this morning.
Masked protesters hurled fireworks and other objects at officers; a car and a newspaper kiosk were set on fire, the Associated Press reported.
In Lyon, a tourist office near Place Bellecour was vandalised and set alight, according to BFMTV. In Marseille, demonstrators forced their way into the City Hall lobby — destroying furniture and spraying an anti-police tag — while a police station on the Canebière had windows smashed and smoke devices thrown inside before an attempted fire was stopped, and shops were looted, Connexion France reported.
Clashes also broke out in Bordeaux, where masked demonstrators fought police and entered the chamber of commerce, and in Rennes, where barricades burned on parts of the ring road. The Interior Ministry reported at least 166 arrests nationwide by midday — 100 of them in Paris — blaming masked groups using “black bloc” tactics in Paris, Marseille, Rennes, Toulouse and Angers.
About 140 actions outside Paris drew 32,000 people by midday; organisers listed 1,756 actions, with 60,000 to 110,000 participants expected overall.
The CGT backed the mobilisation; leader Sophie Binet told Le Monde: “Buying tomatoes, courgettes or filling up your tank is becoming a luxury.” The protests revived the yellow-vest movement under the banner of “la vie chère” — the high cost of living — alongside students blockading schools since mid-September. Macron had appealed for calm on Friday.
Read next:
- France school protests — full series
- Yellow vests join students for today’s planned protests
- France suspends stun grenades after student protest injuries
Sources
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