French Protests Turn Chaotic Again, 70,000 Officers Deployed
The wave of protests in France once again spiraled into clashes on Saturday (24/10/2026). The demonstrations, which drew hundreds of thousands of people rallying against the rising cost of living and social inequality, started off peaceful-but things got ugly in Paris and Marseille as night fell.
The Interior Ministry put the turnout at around 410,000, but unions claimed the number was actually double that. The biggest crowd gathered on the southeastern outskirts of Paris with at least 110,000 people. Then the situation heated up: riot police fired tear gas in Paris, while in Marseille a bunch of young people torched trash cans and hurled stuff at the cops. Clashes also broke out in Lyon, Bordeaux, and other cities.
Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said highly radicalized fringe groups had split off to commit violence. “In nearly every single protest, we’ve seen these kinds of groups forming,” he remarked. The government deployed 70,000 personnel, up from the week before. The massive security presence left parts of central Paris feeling almost cut off, like an isolated zone, with plenty of shops and museums shutting down temporarily.
https://www.harianaceh.co.id/2