Paris: Some 410,000 people marched across France on Saturday, according to the country’s interior ministry, as the country braced for a possible repeat of violence seen last weekend.
In Paris alone, at least 110,000 people turned out to denounce rising living costs and growing inequality.
Police were out in force in major French cities. While rallies in Paris and Marseille were mostly peaceful, clashes between protesters and police were reported in towards the evening.
Riot police in Paris fired tear gas and water cannons at some 500 hooded youths before they eventually dispersed. In Marseille, youths blocked roads by setting trash cans on fire. They threw rocks and bottles at security forces.
Clashes were also reported in the cities of Lyon, Bordeaux, Grenoble, Clermont-Ferrand, Lille, Rennes, Nantes and Toulouse.
France is known for its protest culture, where demonstration is considered a bedrock value.
Altercations between the police and demonstrators are by and large part of the French protest ritual.
What we are seeing could even be considered a relatively calm end-of-demonstration situation, Lisa Louis, who is in Paris, said.
Milan: Protests less unruly than last weekend amid high security
Meanwhile, security guards were deployed in Milan on Saturday amid demonstrations against the rising cost of living.
As the day went on (and largely toward the end of demonstrations in many cities), clashes occurred between protesters and the authorities during the demonstrations across France.
The mood over the past few days in France felt almost a bit apocalyptic. Business owners told me they were worried more looting might lie ahead, after gangs of individuals had ransacked and destroyed at least 3,000 shops across the country last weekend.
“Some of us are planning to buy weapons to defend ourselves, in case the pillagers come back. One day, there’s going to be a tragedy — for sure,” Jonathan Siad, owner of a tobacco shop in Paris, said to me.
Other store owners were too afraid to talk to us in front of the camera – they worried criminals might see the interview and target their shop.
Residents told me they would try to avoid the area where the demonstration was taking place. Only to add that they hoped the situation wouldn’t escalate like last week, when even places far away from the actual marches became hotspots of clashes between the police and protesters.
Interior Minister Laurent Nunez had admitted on Monday a “loss of control” last Saturday. The authorities thus increased the number of police deployed across France by 10,000 to 70,000 this Saturday.
First clashes between protesters and the police started to occur in the late afternoon in several cities across France such as Marseille, Lyon and Paris.But for now, the much feared mass looting and ransacking doesn’t seem to be happening. The situation is nowhere near the total chaos Paris and other cities like Marseille experienced last Saturday.
“Last weekend, our neighborhood resembled a war zone with gangs roaming the area. Today, it’s completely empty apart from police with their vans,” Yassaman Metghalchi, co-owner of a jewelry shop in the city center of Paris that got looted last Saturday, told me.
“All of our neighbors feel reassured – although the night is still young and we need to wait and see what will happen,” she added.
Paris police say 110,000 protesters on Saturday in ‘City of Lights’
Paris police say 110,000 protesters were on the streets in the city on Saturday. The anti-government “Yellow Vest” movementteamed up with aggrieved school students for this round of demonstrations.
The CGT trade union, meanwhile, said 800,000 participated in protests across France, with 250,000 people taking part in Paris.
Saturday’s protesters were limited by Parisian authorities to the city’s southeastern edge, away from the centre. -DW