Nearly 1,000 Arrested in France as Saturday Marches Turn to Evening Clashes, Interior Minister Says

One week after the Oct. 17 riots that left about 3,000 businesses damaged or looted, France's interior minister says police arrested nearly 1,000 people during Saturday's nationwide protests. Laurent Nuñez said the number is expected to rise significantly. He did not specify where the arrests were made.

The daytime marches were largely peaceful. The trouble came later, and it was concentrated in groups that split off from the main processions.

Arrests and seized weapons

Nuñez said 135 of the arrests came before 1 p.m., mostly after officers found potential weapons on people heading to the demonstrations. By evening, arrests were running well above the 385 recorded at the same point last Saturday. More than 2,700 people were arrested over last weekend's riots in total.

The seized items include metal balls, lead pellets, fireworks, slingshots, steel balls, improvised weapons, airsoft guns and a katana, Nuñez said. In Bordeaux, a person was stopped carrying a pistol, according to the regional prefect. In the Isère region, authorities confiscated mortars, Molotov cocktails, fireworks and iron bars.

In Paris, police carried out more than 3,000 checks. The Paris prosecutor's office said 64 people were arrested in connection with the demonstration and 40 were placed in police custody, including six minors. Most cases involved suspected weapons offenses or taking part in a group preparing violence or property damage.

Where it turned violent

The Paris march ended without incident at its front, but clashes followed. Nuñez said "several thousand radical activists" gathered at the rear of the procession. He described "an extremely elevated level of violence" from "ultra-left" groups. Police fired tear gas and used armored water cannons near Porte de Vincennes as masked protesters threw cobblestones and other projectiles.

Outside the capital, local authorities reported the following:

• Tours: officials counted about 5,000 demonstrators, including up to 800 masked individuals who sought to avoid identification before vandalizing property.
• Grenoble: nearly 400 masked people vandalized parts of the city and attacked officers, authorities said.
• Lyon: officials said hooded groups targeted security forces with iron pellets, and police used tear gas.
• Nantes, Nice, Marseille, Lille and Clermont-Ferrand: police used tear gas, water cannons or both.

Nuñez said two people were seriously injured, one in Clermont-Ferrand and one in Toulouse.

In Orléans, officers trained for urban disorder were deployed as protesters gathered against a National Rally event in the area. In Nice, Nuñez said a far-right group tried to protect businesses before police dispersed it. He called the episode "a first."

Smaller damage than last week

Nuñez said some shops were looted, but "the scale was far smaller" than a week ago. He credited faster police action, more checks before the marches and better protection of stores and shopping centers. He also said no public buildings were attacked on Saturday. On Oct. 17, city halls in Limoges and Marseille and the Lyon tourist office were targeted.

About 70,000 officers were deployed nationwide, backed by helicopters, armored vehicles and water cannon. Central Paris was boarded up, museums closed and more than 20 metro stations suspended service.

Unions contest the government's account

The Interior Ministry counted about 410,000 marchers across roughly 298 demonstrations, including 110,000 in Paris. The General Confederation of Labor (CGT) put the national figure at about 800,000 and the Paris figure at 250,000.

The union side also objects to how the day was run. The Paris march was moved at the last minute from the Bastille to Porte d'Italie, a more remote site on the city's southeastern edge. CGT representative Murielle Guilbert called it "scandalous" that Macron had forbidden protesters from demonstrating "where we wish to demonstrate." Participants complied with the change.

Nuñez rejected claims that the state is repressing the movement. He said police acted proportionally. "Without the police, there would have been no march," he said, pointing to the aggression officers faced.

What drives the protests

The movement began weeks ago with high school and university students angry about teacher shortages, overcrowded classrooms and dilapidated school buildings. Major unions then joined, adding opposition to the government's austerity policies and concerns over wages, pensions and the cost of living.

That breadth is the government's problem. A security operation can blunt the rioting. It does nothing about the underlying grievances that put hundreds of thousands in the streets.

Nuñez said authorities would remain on high alert overnight. The final arrest tally has not been released. The Steelers-Saints NFL game in Paris is still scheduled for Sunday, after fan events tied to it were canceled.