Here's the latest
• Fresh protests: Almost 1,000 people were detained during largely peaceful demonstrations across France today, according to authorities. As night fell, police were on standby to guard against looting, the interior ministry said, and clashes in several cities resulted in the deployment of tear gas and water cannon.
• Security operation: Some 70,000 officers are positioned across the country this weekend as part of a huge security operation. At least 400,000 people protested on Saturday, with 110,000 of these in Paris, the interior ministry said.
• Discontent across Europe: Anti-government demonstrations are also taking place in a number of other European countries. Police in Albania used water cannon during clashes with protesters, while in Italy, scuffles broke out as hundreds gathered in the cities of Naples, Rome and Milan.
Updates
(38)Hundreds of thousands take to the streets in France and more join across Europe. Catch up
More than 400,000 people attended protests across France today, according to the country’s Interior Ministry, as anti-government demonstrations spread to Albania, Italy and other European countries.
In Paris, where over 100,000 participated in demonstrations, a protest march proceeded mostly peacefully, although some conflict with law enforcement was reported near the end.
Catch up on all the news from the scene:
- Protesters detained: Around 1,000 people have been detained across the country today, according to French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez, up from 385 amid the protests last week.
- Chaotic end in Paris: Near the end of demonstrations in the French capital, a smaller crowd of around a thousand remained and clashed with police, which used tear gas and a water cannon to block them. Some protesters lit flares, and police stun grenades could be heard erupting in the area.
- Extremism in other cities: In Nice, dozens of members of a far-right group attacked peaceful protesters, CNN affiliate BFMTV reported. Nuñez wrote that “in Paris, Marseille, Lyon, Grenoble, Nantes, Angers, Lille, and many other cities, individuals from the ultra-left and the radical far-left have once again sought to sow disorder.”
- View from the left: Jean-Luc Mélenchon, leader of the far-left party France Insoumise, described the march through Paris as a “total victory for the social movement.” He also promised a general strike next month if French President Emmanuel Macron does not respond to protesters’ demands.
- Protests across Europe: In cities across Italy where demonstrations were scheduled, police stopped and searched hundreds of protesters. A march in Rome proceeded peacefully, according to a CNN reporter there. In Tirana, Albania and Brussels, police deployed water cannons against protesters.
- What’s driving the discontent? Across Europe, young people are protesting issues ranging from a lack of funding for education to the cost of housing. One foreign policy expert wrote that the protests stem from a “fundamental collapse of the French social contract.”
CNN’s Tim Lister, Lisa Courbebaisse, Catherine Nicholls, Elina Baudier Kim, Charlotte Reck, Ivana Kottasová and Issy Ronald contributed reporting.
French mayors describe demonstrations and clashes in their cities
French authorities reported clashes at multiple regional demonstrations Saturday night, as violence marred some of the more than 280 protests held outside Paris, according to the Interior Ministry.
In France’s second city, Marseille, protesters launched mortar fireworks towards police during running street skirmishes and there were reports of looting in various parts of the city, including a jewelry store with smashed windows and a supermarket being pillaged, according to BFM TV.
Marseille Mayor Benoit Payan acknowledged “minor disruptions” from protesters on Saturday evening and praised the police and firefighters. “The city center is largely secured. The outskirts are largely secured,” he said, emphasizing security forces’ preparations:
Bordeaux Mayor Thomas Cazenave also credited local security forces with containing eruptions of violence and preventing attacks on shops in the city:
In Nice, where authorities had banned protests this weekend but saw a small number of people turn out, Mayor Eric Ciotti expressed his gratitude to law enforcement “who were once again targeted today with shocking violence.”
And in Lille, where very little damage was reported on Saturday, socialist Mayor Arnaud Deslandes said a large crowd had gathered in the city “to express their deep frustration” and called on the French government to respond:
See what protests looked like across France today
In pictures: French protests spiral into national crisis
France saw yet another wave of protests this weekend, with some 70,000 officers positioned across the country to prevent a repeat of the kind of violence and riots that hit the nation last week.
Demonstrations remained largely peaceful today, but some cities saw clashes, with police deploying water cannon and tear gas. At least 400,000 people protested across France, 110,000 of these in Paris, the interior ministry said. At least 1,000 people were detained, authorities said.
Far-right group attacked protesters in Nice, mayor says
Dozens of members of a far-right group attacked people protesting peacefully today in Nice, France, CNN affiliate BFMTV reported.
“I condemn in the strongest possible terms the attacks carried out today in Nice by far-right militants against participants in a peaceful demonstration,” said Nice Mayor Éric Ciotti, leader of the right-wing party Union of the Right for the Republic.
Earlier in the day, Ciotti had posted that law enforcement in Nice were being “targeted today with shocking violence and a clear intent to kill.” He added that anyone who harmed police officers “must sleep a long time in prison.”
The Prefect of the Alpes-Maritimes, the region encompassing Nice, wrote on X that as the protest crowd dispersed, “clashes broke out between individuals from the far-right and the far-left.” Sixty-three arrests were made and five people were injured, including three police officers, according to the prefect.
All demonstrations in Nice were prohibited today, but over 2,000 people still assembled, the prefect also wrote.
About 1,000 people detained but marches largely peaceful, says French interior minister
Nearly 1,000 people have been detained amid demonstrations across France today, according to French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez.
This compares to 385 detentions amid the protests last week, he said.
“In Paris, we had a major demonstration that took place peacefully, like most protest marches across the entire country,” Nuñez told reporters.
“They were prevented from staging unauthorized roving protests or heading toward city centers,” he added. “In certain cities there was some damage or looting of businesses, in very limited numbers,” but far less than during protests a week ago.”
Nuñez said there have been “no targeted attacks” on public buildings such as town halls and police stations, as seen last Saturday.
However, security forces faced an “extremely high level of violence” he added, “with projectiles constantly being thrown and mortar fireworks fired.”
In Paris, there were “500 rioters who were absolutely determined to attack internal security forces or carry out looting,” he said, adding that security forces would remain deployed until very late this evening local time to guard against looting.
How protests have unfolded in France so far today
Hundreds of thousands of people protested across France today, according to the country’s Interior Ministry, in what were largely peaceful demonstrations.
Since then, clashes have been reported between protesters and police in several cities. Here’s what’s been happening on the ground:
- Though more than 100,000 people marched peacefully in Paris today, a crowd of remaining protesters has confronted police, who used tear gas and a water cannon to block them, according to a CNN team at the scene. More than an hour later, some protesters are lighting flares, while booms from police stun grenades can be heard as they erupt in the area.
- In Lyon, police used tear gas to try and disperse protesters wearing masks, some of whom picked up tear gas grenades and threw them back at police lines. Elsewhere, there was a stand-off between riot police and hundreds of demonstrators in Lyon, according to CNN affiliate BFMTV.
- Videos showed police using tear gas and charging dozens of protesters in Lille, many of whom were wearing face masks. The demonstrators fell back and then regrouped.
- Clashes also took place in the southern port city of Marseille, according to BFMTV live coverage. Riot police used tear gas there too.
- In Nice, more than 700 security personnel were expected to be deployed. Police tried to disperse demonstrators in the center of the city, using loudspeakers to order people to evacuate the area.
- Images from Bordeaux on France’s Atlantic coast showed tear gas being used against protesters in the famous Place de la Bourse. Videos showed some masked protesters hurling objects at police as the tear gas drifted across the square.
- Meanwhile, in Orléans, north-central France, thousands of protesters demonstrated against the far-right National Rally party, which is holding its congress there this weekend. About 11,000 people had joined the demonstration by midday, local authorities estimated, according to CNN affiliate BFMTV.
CNN’s Elina Baudier Kim, Joseph Ataman, Tim Lister, Issy Ronald, Magdalena Vitores Moreno and Charlotte Reck contributed to this reporting.
"Bismillah, c'est les ténèbres": What to know about the viral slogan of students in France
An unverified Snapchat message, which students in France claim was written by an undercover police officer, has become the slogan of student protests. Here’s how it apparently happened.
Protesters light flares, police fire stun grenades during clashes in Paris
It’s been more than an hour since clashes began with police at the end of a march in Paris, and the crowd of about a thousand remaining protesters shows no sign of giving in.
Police have lined the junction, with no obvious route out for the group.
Some protesters are lighting flares, while booms from police stun grenades can be heard as they erupt in the area. Police have been able to push the crowd back from some corners, though they have not been able to move the protesters on.
Some rioters attempted to break into a car dealership, though law enforcement was able to prevent them from doing this, the Paris Police department said in a post on X.
CNN’s Lisa Courbebaisse and Catherine Nicholls contributed to this reporting.
CNN reports from Rome's protests over the cost of living
Hundreds gathered in Italy today to protest against Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s government, while some gathered to demonstrate against the war in the Middle East.
The demonstrations were largely peaceful, as CNN’s Stefano Pozzebon reports from the capital city of Rome, above.
At least 400,000 people have protested across France today, Interior Ministry says
More than 400,000 people took to the streets for protests in France today, according to the Interior Ministry.
Around 110,000 of the roughly 410,000 protesters were in Paris, the ministry said, roughly the same number of people who demonstrated in the capital city last weekend.
L’Union Étudiante, a leading student union, claimed there were far more people protesting today, though it did not share how it calculated its estimated turn out.
Tens of thousands march in Paris, as clashes break out across France. Catch up
Tens of thousands of people have taken to the streets of Paris in today’s demonstrations, which were described by a senior police officer, speaking to CNN affiliate BFMTV, as largely peaceful — until a short while ago.
Protests in other French cities, as well as other European countries, have been less calm, however. Clashes have also recently broken out at the end of the march in Paris.
Catch up on the latest:
- Around 110,000 people took part in today’s demonstration in Paris, according to the city’s police prefecture, which described the situation as “calm” before clashes began in the capital.
- The leader of far-left party France Insoumise, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, described the march through Paris as a “total victory for the social movement,” also before the clashes broke out.
- Since then, however, a crowd of several thousand protestors confronted police, who used tear gas and a water cannon to block them, according to a CNN team at the scene. The protesters, mostly young and dressed in black, congregated in front of police lines leading to Place de la Nation, where the organizers had originally intended to end the march.
- Clashes have been reported in other areas. Tear gas has been used by police in at least four French cities today, including Lyon, Lille, Marseille and Bordeaux.
- At least 135 people have been detained so far across France in connection with today’s protests, the country’s Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said earlier.
- Meanwhile, anti-government demonstrations are also taking place in a number of other European countries, including Albania, Belgium and Italy. Water cannons have been deployed in both Tirana and Brussels.
CNN’s Elina Baudier Kim, Tim Lister, Lisa Courbebaisse, Joseph Ataman, Issy Ronald and Magdalena Vitores Moreno contributed to this reporting.
Police stop and search hundreds of protesters across Italy
Law enforcement preparing for demonstrations scheduled across Italy stopped hundreds of protesters early Saturday, including a 30-year-old man Italy’s defense minister described as the “mastermind” of the movement responsible for last week’s violent protests in Milan.
In Rome, where two of the four announced protests didn’t materialize, more than 200 people were stopped and searched, according to CNN affiliate Sky24. At least 60 of those were reportedly detained local police stations for questioning.
In Milan, where violent protests occurred last weekend, security forces bolstered by hundreds of military troops conducted searches and confiscated baseball bats, fireworks and face masks from scores of protesters. A number of protesters were also taken in for questioning and not allowed to join planned marches, according to local media.
Storefront display windows of luxury shops in Rome, Milan and Florence were boarded up with plywood, with many businesses closing early in anticipation of violence. Police and Carabinieri military officers patroled wearing riot gear in hot spots across the country. CNN also witnessed water canon trucks on standby in anticipation of violence erupting.
Protesters in Turin, Bologna and Florence scuffled with security forces, which used batons and tear gas to push back groups that tried to rush barriers, according to local media which showed images of bleeding protesters.
This post has been updated.
Clashes break out in Paris at end of march
After a peaceful march through Paris, a crowd of several thousand protestors confronted police, who used tear gas and a water cannon to block them, according to a CNN team at the scene.
The clashes broke out at the Porte de Vincennes, the end-point of the march, which drew an estimated 110,000 people.
The protesters, mostly young and dressed in black congregated in front of police lines leading to Place de la Nation, where the organizers had originally intended to end the march.
With a police helicopter hovering overhead, police started using tear gas and a water cannon in an effort to move the protesters back. There was a defiant mood in the crowd, with a handful of protesters targeting the police with lasers. Groups of young people were seen dancing with music pounding through the crowd as meters away tear gas billowed into the air.
Clashes between police and protesters in Bordeaux
Images from Bordeaux on France’s Atlantic coast show tear gas being used against protesters in the famous Place de la Bourse in the city’s historic center.
Videos show some masked protesters hurling objects at police as the tear gas drifts across the square.
Regional authorities said in a post on X that “hostile groups are attacking law enforcement, throwing projectiles, and setting up barricades at Place de la Bourse.” The post warns the public to avoid the area.
Live coverage by CNN affiliate BFMTV showed a tense stand-off between riot police and several hundred protesters on the bank of the River Gironde.
Paris police officer says protests largely peaceful so far
Today’s protests in the French capital of Paris have largely been peaceful so far, in contrast to those seen last Saturday, a senior police officer told CNN affiliate BFMTV.
“For the moment, the situation is pretty much under control, apart from some attempts to block the peripherique, which we stopped,” said Olivier Bourde, the Paris police force’s deputy director for public order, as he stood with his colleagues dressed in riot gear.
Hundreds of protesters have been shouting “ACAB,” a commonly used acronym for an anti-police slogan, a CNN producer in Paris heard.
Bourde couldn’t yet estimate when the protest would be over.
“Last week, we finished at 2 a.m. Now, it will depend on the if the protesters disperse normally, like a normal protest, or if we have breakaway groups,” he said.
CNN’s Joseph Ataman contributed reporting.
Far-left leader says Paris march a "total victory"
The leader of the far-left party France Insoumise has described the march through Paris as a “total victory for the social movement.”
Jean-Luc Mélenchon, who took part in the march, said on X: “The march gathered at the newly authorized location and is now moving forward peacefully, stretching over more than four kilometers.”
Live video showed many thousands walking through the streets, despite a last-minute order by authorities changing the route of the march.
“The attempts by the Prefect of Police and (Prime Minister Sebastien) Lecornu to incite disorder have failed completely,” Mélenchon said.
“It is time for the authorities to yield; otherwise, the only option left to them will soon be the exit door,” he added. praising the discipline of the marchers.
Melenchon has championed the demands of high school students and earlier Saturday warned President Emmanuel Macron that it was time for him to give in to their demands for more investment in France’s schools.
“After that, all he’ll have left is the exit door,” he said.
Police deploy water cannons in several cities in Europe as protests spread
As scores of protesters take to the streets in cities across France today, anti-government demonstrations are also taking place in a number of other European countries.
Protesters in Tirana, Albania, set fire to dumpsters and threw stones and tear gas canisters, according to photographs taken by Reuters.
Chair cushions which had been symbolically offered to protesters as an invitation for a dialogue were also set alight in front of a government building, according to the outlet.
One man was photographed lying on the ground in front of a police vehicle, while other protesters waved Albanian flags outside of the country’s Ministry of Education.
Police deployed water cannons to spray demonstrators near the ministry building, photos showed.
In Brussels, Belgium, student held up placards and barricaded streets. Police deployed a water cannon, according to public broadcaster VRT.
A police officer was photographed by Reuters spraying a substance at demonstrators. VRT reported that the police had deployed both pepper spray and tear gas.
In the Italian cities of Naples, Rome and Milan, stores boarded up their windows ahead of planned protests.
A CNN reporter on the ground in Rome said that a march began peacefully around 3 p.m. local time (9 a.m. ET). Many protesters waved Italian flags as they walked.
Tear gas used in at least three French cities amid nationwide protests
Police have used tear gas in the northern city of Lille in a confrontation with hundreds of protesters.
Videos showed police charging dozens of protesters, many of whom were wearing face masks. The demonstrators fell back and then regrouped.
Within the last few minutes, clashes began in the southern port city of Marseille, according to live coverage on CNN affiliate BFMTV. Riot police used tear gas there too.
Tensions were also running high in the southeastern city of Nice on the Mediterranean coast, where police tried to disperse demonstrators in the center of the city, using loudspeakers to order people to evacuate the area.
Tear gas was also deployed for more than an hour earlier in Lyon in central France, as scattered groups moved from street to street.
The regional authorities said that “several groups of individuals with hostile intentions were preparing to commit acts of violence and vandalism by masking and hooding themselves.”
“After warnings and demands for dispersal, with no reaction from the demonstrators, law enforcement used tear gas measures,” the Prefect of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region said on X.
“Internal security forces were targeted by numerous projectile throws, including iron pellets. These individuals began erecting barricades,” it added.
Mélenchon says a general strike will take place next month unless Macron "gives in now"
Nationwide industrial action will take place in France on November 5 if French President Emmanuel Macron does not respond to the demands of protesters, the leader of far-left party La France Insoumise has warned.
“A general strike, called by the CGT, looms over the government for the 5th of November,” Jean-Luc Mélenchon told CNN’s French affiliate BFMTV from the frontline of today’s demonstration in Paris, adding: “The masses will be set in motion.”
Mélenchon said Macron risks the industrial action that he said would create “far more hazardous conditions” for the president unless he “gives in now.”
Some context: Some protesters have been calling for greater investment in the country’s education system, more opportunities for its youth workforce and solutions to its surging living costs.
Mélenchon’s La France Insoumise party has backed the student movement which has been a part of the protests sweeping France.
Police use tear gas in Lyon
With protests underway in several cities across France, there have been clashes between police and protestors in the city of Lyon.
Live coverage from CNN affiliate BFMTV showed police using tear gas in central Lyon in an effort to disperse protestors wearing masks, some of whom picked up tear gas grenades and threw them back at police lines.
The clashes occurred around the Place Jean Macé, near Lyon university.
Elsewhere in the city, there was a stand-off between riot police and hundreds of demonstrators, according to live pictures.
“Some individuals, wearing hoods and masks, attempted to enter the restricted zone,” and “formal warnings were issued,” a source from the prefecture told BFMTV.
These individuals have since “split into two groups” and are currently being tracked by law enforcement, the source said. Police are intervening “whenever there is an attempt to set up barricades or when projectiles are thrown.”
