Tension and clashes as hundreds of thousands protest in France

Authorities say 320,000 people march on third consecutive weekend of demonstrations over cost of living and state of schools.

Protesters use makeshift shields during a demonstration organised by labour unions as part of nationwide protests called by the "Yellow Vests" movement joined by French high school and university students against the cost of living and rising fuel prices, in Paris, France, October 31, 2026. REUTERS/Pedro Nunes — Protesters use makeshift shields during a demonstration in Paris, France, on October 31, 2026 [Pedro Nunes/Reuters]

By Al Jazeera Staff and AFP

Police have fired tear gas at protesters in Paris and Lyon as hundreds of thousands of mostly young people have marched across France over the cost of living and the state of schools.

Saturday’s rallies were the third consecutive weekend of demonstrations in France.

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A coalition of youth organisations and unions representing high school and university students said nearly half a million people took part, including 200,000 in Paris. The authorities put the nationwide turnout at 320,000, including 70,000 in the capital.

Marches in the capital began peacefully but turned violent as protesters gathered near the point where the main march was due to end. Bins and street furniture were set alight, and plumes of smoke could be seen rising over the city.

“What we’ve been seeing … is the police firing a lot of tear gas into this crowd,” Al Jazeera’s Natacha Butler said, reporting from Paris, adding that her team “had to move out of the way because it was simply too much for us to breathe”.

Riot police warned over loudspeakers that they would fire more tear gas if protesters did not clear the street. Medics carried away people who had been injured while some protesters raised their hands to show police they meant no harm.

Dozens of masked people dressed in black also used hammers to pry up paving stones and hurl them at police on the outskirts of Paris, the AFP news agency reported. At least one incendiary device was thrown at security forces, who responded with tear gas and baton charges.

France’s Ministry of Interior said at least 290 people nationwide were arrested.

A police officer holds a Cougar grenade launcher during a demonstration part of a nationwide day of protest over the rising cost of living and inequality called by the Yellow Vest movement, labour unions and high school and university students organisations in Toulouse, southwestern France, on October 31, 2026. — A police officer holds a grenade launcher in Toulouse in southwestern France [AFP]

Protesters say ‘trust has gone’

Butler said most protesters condemned the violence, but many blamed the government for failing to listen to them.

“You really get a sense with people who have come into the street again and again over the past few weeks that they simply don’t believe the government any more. That trust has gone,” she said.

The government said, however, that it has heard the protesters. Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu has held several meetings with student unions this week and is looking at measures to ease the cost of living.

About 70,000 police and gendarmes were deployed across the country, and Interior Minister Laurent Nunez warned of a “very high risk” of disorder, especially after dark on Halloween.

The main Paris march was moved to the city’s eastern edge after a last-minute court battle, and unaccompanied minors faced a 9pm (20:00 GMT) curfew around the Champs-Elysees.

The movement began last month with high school students protesting against neglected buildings, teacher shortages and a university admissions system that they see as unfair to disadvantaged students. Labour unions have since joined the demonstrations.

Rallies spread across Europe

On October 17, the protests drew more than 500,000 people, and France experienced some of its worst rioting in years, according to government estimates, with shops in Paris looted.

Meanwhile, protests have taken place in other cities across Europe.

On Saturday, young people in Germany were the latest to join in as police deployed water cannon in Frankfurt, Cologne and Hamburg.

Youth demonstrations, organised under the loose alliance of “Gen Z regelt”, which translates to “Gen Z sorts this”, said 120,000 people took to the streets across German cities to protest rising living expenses, government budget cuts and increased defence spending.

Police in Frankfurt said they witnessed “violent riots” and deployed water cannon and pepper spray.

They wrote on social media that the rioters, many of them masked as the demonstration coincided with the Halloween weekend, looted shops, smashed windows and threw Molotov cocktails at emergency services. A large group of people was detained in the city centre, and at least one police officer was injured.

The police also used water cannon in the cities of Cologne and Hamburg. Police in Hamburg said the organisers stopped the protests earlier than planned because police “were repeatedly pelted with stones, fireworks and other objects”.

In Barcelona, Spain, regional police instituted their highest alert level after rioting on October 24 led to about 130 arrests, mostly of minors.

Italian police were also on alert after clashes in Milan, Turin and Bologna.

A protester holds a firework during a demonstration organised by labour unions as part of nationwide protests called by the "Yellow Vests" movement joined by French high school and university students against the cost of living and rising fuel prices, in Paris, France, October 31, 2026. REUTERS/Pedro Nunes TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY — A protester holds a firework during a demonstration in Paris, France [Pedro Nunes/Reuters]