France deploys 70,000 police as 400,000 march for school reforms
The government estimated at least 400,000 participants nationwide, with 110,000 marching in Paris alone during a largely peaceful but tense Saturday demonstration.
By Marco Kapoor ·
President Emmanuel Macron faces mounting political pressure in his final months of office as hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets across France on Saturday. The demonstrations, which began as a student movement in mid-September, have expanded to include trade unions, teachers, and parents demanding more staff and repairs to crumbling school infrastructure.
The government estimated that at least 400,000 people marched nationwide, while trade unions claimed the figure was twice that amount. In Paris, authorities counted at least 110,000 participants along the eastern edge of the city. To manage the crowds, more than 70,000 police officers were deployed, leading to boarded-up shops and closed museums across major cities.
The mood in the capital remained relaxed for most of the afternoon, with brass bands playing and families participating in the march. However, tensions rose near the end of the route at Porte de Vincennes, where masked groups threw glass bottles and stones at officers. Police responded with teargas, water cannon, and stun grenades, and a bin fire was set alight during the clashes.
Similar unrest occurred in other major cities. Teargas was used in Lyon, Lille, Montpellier, Nantes, and Toulouse to keep protesters away from city centers, while bin fires were lit during clashes in Marseille. The government had feared a repeat of the previous Saturday, which saw one of France's most violent days of unrest in years, including burned public buildings and at least 2,700 arrests.
Interior Minister Laurent Nunez reported that 135 people were arrested across France on Saturday. He stated that police confiscated various weapons, including metal balls, lead pellets, fireworks, slingshots, steel balls, improvised weapons, a katana sword, and airsoft weapons. Investigations are currently underway after police explosive weaponry injured some children and protesters.
Demonstrators criticized the government for banning non-union demonstrations it deemed illegitimate and for keeping marchers away from central areas. A 43-year-old communications worker in Paris said she was teargassed at a peaceful demonstration the previous weekend. She noted that people are now afraid to protest, calling the street a legal right in France. A 21-year-old student described the political climate as an authoritarian regime trying to stop the democratic right to protest.
In Orléans, thousands of people marched against a congress held by Marine Le Pen's National Rally party. The crowd shouted slogans demanding Macron resign and Le Pen go to prison. Jérôme Rodrigues, a figure from the 2018 gilets jaunes movement, said the government was pushing demonstrators to the edge of the city, away from places of power. He predicted that demonstrations would likely continue each weekend.
