PARIS, Oct 24 – More than 400,000 people took to the streets across France on Saturday to protest education funding shortages, rising living costs and economic inequality, intensifying pressure on President Emmanuel Macron during the final months of his presidency. Demonstrations remained peaceful in many areas, but clashes broke out in Paris as the main march ended, prompting police to deploy tear gas and water cannons. Authorities reported nearly 1,000 arrests nationwide.
The protests marked another major escalation in a movement that began with students demanding better conditions in schools before expanding to include workers, trade unions and people struggling with the rising cost of everyday necessities. The demonstrations came a week after widespread rioting and looting across France raised concerns about public safety and the government’s ability to contain the unrest.
Saturday’s turnout was lower than the previous weekend’s demonstrations, according to the Interior Ministry, which estimated that 410,000 people participated nationwide. The CGT trade union, which helped organize some of the rallies, offered a substantially higher estimate of nearly 800,000.
The competing figures highlighted the scale of the mobilization and the continuing disagreement over how broadly the movement has spread. With presidential elections approaching in May, the unrest has also become a significant political challenge for Macron’s government, drawing criticism from both the far right and the far left.
Clashes Erupt in Paris as Police Move to Disperse Crowds
The main demonstration in Paris began peacefully before violence broke out near the march’s designated endpoint in the eastern part of the capital. Groups of masked protesters threw objects and fireworks toward police officers, who responded with tear gas, stun grenades and water cannons.
Officers used megaphones to instruct demonstrators to leave the area as tear-gas canisters landed among the crowds. Some people fled in panic, while more experienced protesters shouted at those running to remain in place.
The Interior Ministry estimated that approximately 110,000 people demonstrated in Paris, while the CGT put the city’s turnout at 250,000. Authorities had restricted the march to the southeastern outskirts of the capital, keeping demonstrators away from central areas.
Police activity extended well beyond Paris. As evening approached, fires burned in Marseille and Lyon, while tear gas was used to disperse crowds in Lyon, Clermont-Ferrand, Strasbourg and Bordeaux. Water cannons were deployed in Nice and Nantes, according to French media reports.
In Nice, clashes also broke out between far-right extremists and demonstrators in the city center. Regional authorities said 11 people were arrested in connection with the unrest.
Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said officers had made nearly 1,000 arrests across the country, adding that the total was expected to rise as authorities processed further cases.
The government deployed approximately 70,000 police officers and gendarmes, supported by helicopters, armored vehicles and additional resources. Nuñez said the extensive security operation had helped prevent a repeat of the previous weekend’s widespread looting and damage to businesses.
Despite the substantial police presence, the clashes illustrated the difficulty authorities face in allowing large demonstrations to proceed while preventing confrontations from escalating.
Education Funding Dispute Expands Into a National Protest Movement
The demonstrations originated last month with complaints about staff shortages at a high school southeast of Paris. The initial protest gradually developed into a broader campaign, attracting students concerned about educational resources and workers frustrated by rising household expenses.
Students are demanding 250,000 additional places in higher education and an end to the selection process administered through Parcoursup, France’s national university admissions system. Their proposed 10-point plan also calls for hiring more teachers and repairing deteriorating school and university facilities.
Financial demands form another major part of the movement. Student groups are seeking an additional 200 euros a month in student grants and a freeze on rents in public student accommodation.
The cost of living has added urgency to those demands. France’s national statistics agency, INSEE, reported that energy prices in September were 21.3% higher than a year earlier, while overall inflation reached 3.1%.
For many demonstrators, the dispute extends beyond education to questions about employment opportunities, wealth distribution and the affordability of basic necessities.
In Paris, 46-year-old teacher Bénédicte Pittion joined the march with her 16-year-old daughter, Garance, who attends high school. It was their first demonstration together.
Pittion said students who had been protesting were not being heard and that she wanted to support them both as a parent and as a teacher.
Her daughter acknowledged feeling frightened after witnessing the violence of the previous weekend but said staying away from Saturday’s march would effectively allow the government to claim a victory.
Macron met representatives of high school students on Friday. The students said he had promised changes to university admissions, but they maintained that demonstrations should continue until the government announced concrete measures.
The movement has therefore continued despite the meeting, with protesters seeking commitments that go beyond discussions with government officials.
Macron Faces Growing Political Pressure as Opposition Mobilizes
The unrest presents a difficult challenge for Macron as France approaches the presidential election in May, when voters will choose his successor. Opposition parties have seized on the demonstrations to attack the government’s handling of public services, economic pressures and public security.
The far-right National Rally has accused the administration of failing to protect the public and encouraged dissatisfied voters to support its candidate, Marine Le Pen. On the left, presidential candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon has expressed support for demonstrators and criticized police tactics that have left some teenage protesters with life-changing injuries.
Economic inequality has emerged as another prominent theme. In Paris, 27-year-old Camille Chesnier said she had been unable to find employment despite holding an engineering degree and a master’s degree. She said many others faced even more precarious circumstances, including homelessness and living in squats.
Another demonstrator, Louis Ledoux-Xatard, expressed concern that inequality could deepen to levels seen in the United States, where he said some people possess considerable wealth while others have very little.
The demonstrations also faced restrictions in several cities. Authorities banned rallies in Lyon, Nice and Montpellier, prompting trade unions to accuse the government of undermining freedom of expression, a right protected by the French Constitution.
CGT union member Soumaya Abed, a 58-year-old nurse, criticized the decision to keep the Paris march away from the city center. She argued that restricting demonstrations to the outskirts would not prevent students from continuing to demand improvements in education.
Security concerns also affected businesses and cultural institutions. Shopkeepers boarded up storefronts across Paris, while gendarmes guarded areas around the Arc de Triomphe. Near Saint-Lazare railway station, contractor Akram Ahmed said he had been called in to board up an optician’s shop after its owner expressed fears about potential damage.
Several major cultural attractions were affected as well. The Louvre and other museums closed exceptionally, while Art Basel, the prominent contemporary art fair, opened to the public on Friday but canceled its weekend program because of concerns about further unrest.
Outside the capital, the scale of the demonstrations remained disputed. Police estimated that 17,000 people attended the rally in Marseille, while the CGT claimed participation reached 100,000. Authorities put turnout in Toulouse, in southwestern France, at 26,500.
Thousands also gathered in Orléans, south of Paris, for a separate peaceful demonstration against the far right as the National Rally held a two-day congress in the city.
Saturday’s protests brought together demands for better-funded schools, financial relief and greater economic fairness, while exposing divisions over policing and the government’s response. With students promising to continue their campaign and opposition parties intensifying their criticism, Macron faces mounting pressure to demonstrate that his administration can address the grievances driving the unrest before his presidency ends.