Paris, France(National Times)- Police and protesters clashed violently in Paris and other French cities on Saturday on the sidelines of nationwide marches against soaring inflation, with one demonstrator\u2019s hand blown off, multiple blazes set, and looters breaking into dozens of stores to strip them bare.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With just months to go before the two-round elections in April and May to choose Macron\u2019s successor, the demonstrations follow weeks of high-school student blockades demanding better learning conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Macron and his government were criticised by many of the demonstrators, who numbered 500,000 across the country, according to the CGT union. Authorities did not immediately give their estimate of the numbers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Police used tear gas and water cannon against masked protesters in Paris and other cities who were throwing projectiles and aiming fireworks. Several parked cars were torched in the capital, and more than 130 arrests were made.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the southern city of Saint-Etienne, a male protester had his hand blown off by a police crowd-control grenade, a police source told AFP. His maiming came after a 15-year-old lost his hand on October 5 to a police stun grenade during another protest in the city of Lens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Protesters stand amid tear gas smoke as clashes erupt ahead of a demonstration to protest against the \u201chigh cost of living\u201d, at Place de la Republique in Paris, France on October 17, 2026. \u2014 AFP
The protests geared up with a handful of gatherings nationwide on Saturday morning, AFP reporters said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In Lyon, protesters set ablaze a tourist office in the city centre, and smashed their way into town halls in the cities of Marseille and Lille, where they vandalised the premises before leaving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dozens of shops were looted, including many in Marseille, among them a Hermes boutique, an Apple store in Lille, several shops in Nice and at least one mobile phone outlet in Paris, AFP journalists saw.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A crowd of more than 300 protesters tried to move up Paris\u2019s Champs-Elysees, home to flagship luxury stores. As police firing tear gas blocked their way, they yelled, \u201cAll cops are bastards\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the western city of Rennes, around 20 people set up a barricade using trash bins and large pallets on the outskirts of a shopping mall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Christophe, a 47-year-old carpenter and former Yellow Vest protester who did not give his surname, said he was indignant after seeing what he viewed as police brutality against teenagers in recent weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve reached the point where the repression is targeting our own children,\u201d he told AFP.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A French national police officer fires tear gas during clashes prior to the start of a demonstration to protest against the \u201chigh cost of living\u201d, in Marseille, southern France on October 17, 2026. \u2014 AFP
\u2018Macron, resign\u2019
The looting and confrontations with police were being carried out by masked youths on the sidelines of marches that were largely peaceful and which attracted people of all ages, including families with children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Paris mayor Emmanuel Gregoire stressed that \u201cthe overwhelming majority of demonstrators\u201d wanted to \u201cmarch calmly\u201d, but \u201cacts of vandalism\u201d were tarnishing their protest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In Paris, tens of thousands marched across the east and north of the city in one major march, some shouting \u201cEveryone hates the police\u201d and \u201cMacron, resign\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Protesters wearing yellow vests face police as clashes erupt ahead of a demonstration to protest against the \u201chigh cost of living\u201d, at Place de la Republique in Paris, France on October 17, 2026. \u2014 AFP
One demonstrator, Jules Petrichor, 47, who had brought his son, said: \u201cThere was a good atmosphere and then suddenly they (the police) started gassing us, even though nothing was happening. Naturally that worsened things and the hot-heads got hot-headed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Another protester who gave his first name as Louis, 19, complained that police were trigger-happy any time there was a demonstration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe can\u2019t protest any more, it\u2019s frightening,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The country\u2019s Yellow Vest movement, which eight years ago staged street protests against Macron\u2019s government over planned fuel tax hikes, has called Saturday\u2019s \u201cyellow and youth\u201d demonstrations. It has appealed to teachers and students, workers, pensioners and farmers to take part in the protests on the first day of half-term holidays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The principal grievance was the cost of living \u2014 pushed up in part by the war in the Middle East \u2014 that has helped send inflation soaring in Europe as elsewhere.
But there were other issues too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A protestor with a gas mask holds a French flag in front of a fire at the Boulevard des Capucines during a demonstration to protest against the \u201chigh cost of living\u201d, in Paris, France on October 17, 2026. \u2014 AFP
High school student Kamil Alahyan, 18, said he was protesting \u201cfor so many reasons \u2014 the elections coming up in 2027, politicians who lie, the ultra-rich who\u2019ve been taking more and more wealth over the past 10 years\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFor years we\u2019ve had climate, economy and equality problems but the government is not doing anything about it,\u201d said Agnes, a 50-year-old actor who did not give her second name.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Anae, a 24-year-old student who did not give her surname, said she was protesting because she did not have a \u201csustainable future\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOur planet\u2019s burning. And we\u2019ve got a government that doesn\u2019t give a toss,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Le Pen blames \u2018rioters\u2019
Opposition politicians vying to succeed Macron have seized upon the protests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen, who has sided with the police, said on X: \u201cLooting, pillaging, attacking police \u2014 rioters have once again sullied the October 17 demonstrations over the cost of living.\u201d She claimed that the protesters\u2019 demands had been \u201chijacked by the far left\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Her far-left rival Jean-Luc Melenchon, insisted early Saturday that \u201ceverything is passing off peacefully\u201d, while accusing television news of \u201cflooding us with images of violence in dozens of cities\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Several protesters sought to draw parallels with the French Revolution of 1789.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s the Revolution \u2014 we\u2019re taking the Bastille!\u201d some shouted in Marseille during the forced entry of the mayor\u2019s offices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the western city of La Rochelle, marchers streamed behind a placard reading: \u201cRevolution or death.\u201d And in the southern city of Montpellier, a giant blue sign reading \u201cThe people will win\u201d was unfurled above a central square.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe government is trembling and it\u2019s right to tremble because when the French people are angry, they never let up,\u201d Ryad Rani, the head of the LSU high school student representative body, told journalists in Paris.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Paris, France(National Times)- Police and protesters clashed violently in Paris and other French cities on Saturday on the sidelines of nationwide marches against soaring inflation, with one demonstrator\u2019s hand blown off, multiple blazes set, and looters breaking into dozens of stores to strip them bare. With just months to go before the two-round elections in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":135013,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-135012","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest_news","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n