Protesters march in Paris on 24 October 2026.

France Protests 24 October: Nearly 1,000 Arrests as Clashes Erupt in Paris

ByCruxEquites Editorial

The crux: France’s second Saturday of cost-of-living and education protests ended in clashes in Paris and several other cities on 24 October, despite some 70,000 police and gendarmes on duty. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said nearly 1,000 people were arrested nationwide (The Guardian). The ministry counted 410,000 marchers, against 800,000 by the CGT union’s count. In Paris, police counted 110,000 and the CGT 250,000.

Clashes in Paris

From about 17:30, more than 500 rioters fought police on the cours de Vincennes and at Porte de Vincennes, where the march ended. Police answered with tear gas, a water cannon and baton charges. Rioters tried to break into an Audi dealership. Police said the march had been dispersed by about 20:05. A gendarmerie helicopter followed the groups still on the streets, and smaller clashes went on after that (franceinfo, actu.fr).

Marchers in Paris during the 24 October 2026 demonstration.
Marchers in Paris during the 24 October 2026 demonstration. Photo: FreCha / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Elsewhere in France

Barricades were set on fire in Marseille, and boards were ripped off a shop front in Bordeaux. Police fired tear gas in Lyon and Nantes (BBC News).

Far-right clashes in Nice

In Nice, where the prefect had banned all gatherings for the day, up to 2,300 people marched against the cost of living. Police used tear gas and a water cannon on avenue Jean-Médecin and around place Masséna. Late in the afternoon about 50 masked far-right militants confronted the protesters on the Coulée verte, avenue Notre-Dame and near the Hôtel des Postes. Three protesters were lightly injured. Police made 63 arrests in Nice during the day, 11 of them far-right militants, and the prefecture said no shops were damaged (Le Parisien; BFM Côte d’Azur).

What happened

Unions, high-school and university students and “yellow vest” groups marched in more than 100 locations. In Paris the police prefecture moved the main route to the city’s south-eastern edge, from Porte d’Italie to Porte de Vincennes, after a court rejected organisers’ bid to keep the Bastille–Nation route. Police seized weapons and gas masks in pre-march searches and cleared Place de la Bastille. At 13:00 Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez counted about 35,000 marchers nationwide, against 60,000 at the same hour a week earlier.

Restrictions differed by city. Lyon banned protests in much of its centre. Marseille allowed the union march by exemption, and a court partly suspended a wider ban in the Bouches-du-Rhône. In Limoges, where the town hall was set alight on 17 October, a court suspended a ban on gatherings and a street curfew. The Council of Europe’s human rights commissioner urged states to protect the right to peaceful assembly.

Paris street protest, 24 October 2026.
Paris street protest, 24 October 2026. Photo: FreCha / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Why it matters

The movement began with weeks of school protests over crowded classrooms and teacher shortages, then grew into wider anger over living costs and public services. On 17 October roughly 550,000 people marched. Looting, arson and attacks on public buildings followed in several cities, with more than 2,300 arrests and almost 1,000 officers injured that weekend. Nuñez admitted police had “lost control”, and curfews followed in parts of Paris, Lyon, Nice and Lille. The unrest comes about six months before the presidential election.

What’s next

The gilets jaunes (yellow vests) have called another day of action for 31 October. Watch for further clashes overnight, an updated arrest count and whether curfews are extended. Local bans and curfews can change at short notice.

Sources

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