Hundreds of thousands of people protested on Saturday, October 17, in cities across France against inadequate funding for education and the deterioration of public services. The demonstrations were accompanied by clashes and property damage.
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Organizers and the CGT union said around 800,000 people took part in the protests. According to figures from France’s Interior Ministry, the number of demonstrators was 550,000.
In the capital, clashes centered on Place de la République and continued for several hours as police used tear gas. Some protesters tried to head toward government ministries and the presidential palace. The headquarters of television channel CNews was also attacked.
There were incidents in other cities as well. In Limoges, a fire suspected to have started from a Molotov cocktail caused extensive damage to the historic 19th-century town hall. In Marseille, hooded protesters attacked the town hall and wrote anarchist slogans on its walls; shop looting was also reported. A tourist office was set on fire in Lyon, the town hall was damaged in Lille, and residents of a building in Grenoble were evacuated after a fire broke out there.
In Saint-Etienne, a 17-year-old lost his hand after being injured by a grenade thrown by police. According to reports, he is suspected of having picked up the grenade with his hands.
Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said 150 police officers and gendarmes were injured during the demonstrations. An earlier announcement had reported around 60 people injured, including two in critical condition. Authorities also arrested more than 1,200 people, mostly in Paris, including minors.
President Emmanuel Macron condemned the violence and said it has no place in a democracy. He called on citizens to unite against those who, he said, incite chaos, and vowed that those responsible would be prosecuted and punished.
Lecornu said no one can impose their political agenda through violence and criticized the left-wing France Unbowed movement, led by Jean-Luc Mélenchon. The interior minister also blamed the far left for inciting the violence.
