Nearly 1,000 Arrested as Ultra‑Left Violence Sparks Nationwide Clashes in France

Police arrested nearly 1,000 people as Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said officers faced an extremely elevated level of violence from black‑clad ultra‑left extremists during Saturday’s demonstrations across France. The riots broke out on October 24, 2026, a week after earlier protests turned violent and prompted President Emmanuel Macron to tighten security. Riot police fired tear‑gas in Paris, Marseille, Lyon, Bordeaux, Lille, Toulouse, Montpellier and Nantes. Two protesters were seriously injured – a man in Toulouse lost fingers and another person in Clermont‑Ferrand was hurt, though details were not released. Seventy thousand security personnel were deployed nationwide for the new marches that drew between 410,000 and 800,000 participants, according to authorities and the CGT union. In Paris the main march attracted 110,000 to 250,000 people, was pushed to the city’s southeast rim at the last minute and passed largely peacefully while shops boarded up windows and the Louvre and Musee d’Orsay stayed closed. After the crowd dispersed, clashes erupted; Nunez blamed about 500 rioters at the back of the march. AFP journalists recorded police charging, using batons and tear‑gas on mostly young demonstrators, including a man named David who said police were beating people. Thousands in Nantes broke through police lines, tear‑gas and a water cannon to reach the city centre. In Lyon police dispersed roughly 1,000 protesters with tear‑gas. Far‑right activists met ultra‑left militants in Cannes and Montpellier, a development authorities called unprecedented. Looting was reported on the sidelines in Marseille and Grenoble. The Yellow Vests called for another protest on October 31, demanding freedom to demonstrate, while far‑left presidential candidate Jean‑Luc Mélenchon warned the movement will repeat weekly.

Context

France has seen a wave of cost‑of‑living protests since the Yellow Vests began in 2018, and the government often responds with heavy police deployment. Frequent bans on non‑union rallies and curfews have heightened tensions between authorities and demonstrators.