320,000 March in France for a Third Straight Weekend as Youth Protests Spread to Germany
Police deployed 70,000 officers and moved the Paris march to the capital's edge, but clashes with tear gas still broke out at dusk on Halloween.
Hundreds of thousands of mostly young protesters filled the streets of France on Saturday for a third consecutive weekend of demonstrations over living costs and education, while similar youth-led marches took place in Germany, Italy and Portugal.
France's government estimated 320,000 people marched nationwide, fewer than the 410,000 it counted on October 24 and the more than 500,000 on October 17, though organizers put their own turnout far higher. About 70,000 police and gendarmes were deployed. Authorities reported roughly 300 arrests so far, down from 800 at the same point the previous weekend.
Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez warned of a "very high risk" of disorder, especially after dark on Halloween. The October 17 protests deteriorated into some of France's worst rioting in years, and police arrested thousands of people after looting and riots marred the previous two Saturdays. President Emmanuel Macron said this weekend's marches would stay out of city centers to protect shops. Police also barred people from entering Place de la Republique and Les Halles from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. Saturday and Sunday.
In Paris, the main march was moved to the city's eastern edge after a last-minute court battle, to reduce the risk of unrest near government buildings and tourist sites. The Interior Ministry said 70,000 of the day's protesters were in that march. Thousands gathered at Porte de Bagnolet behind a line of students walking hand in hand, with security agents from the CGT, one of France's largest labor unions, watching the front. Each group carried its own banner: high school students, climate activists and people angry about the cost of living. For hours the march along the Boulevards des Maréchaux was joyful, with techno music, a painter working along the route and some marchers trick-or-treating.
As the sun set, clashes broke out near Porte de Charenton, where the march ended. Protesters hurled glass bottles and fireworks at police, who answered with stun grenades and tear gas. Many peaceful marchers turned back coughing, some scattering into the Bois de Vincennes. A separate Paris court ruling on Wednesday suspended an earlier curfew on minors as a serious and illegal infringement of freedom of movement, though unaccompanied minors still face a 9 p.m. curfew around the Champs-Elysees.
The movement began last month with high school students protesting neglected buildings, teacher shortages and a university admissions system they see as unfair to disadvantaged students. Labor unions and others angry at Macron then joined with a range of demands. "I live in a state-run student residence where there are damp stains all along the bottom of my walls, whole sections peeling off, cockroaches everywhere, rats," said Corentin Cabreux, a 21-year-old student at the Paris march.
In Germany, a youth initiative called "Gen Z regelt," roughly "Gen Z's got this," rallied in more than 30 cities for education, health, climate protection and an affordable life, and against any return of military conscription. Organizers said tens of thousands took part. In Berlin, Lara Breitenbach, a high school student, said protesters want more money for social services, education and climate protection. "We are the ones who will be affected by this the longest," she said. Another Berlin student, Janelle Schulz, said the ceiling at her school is collapsing from water damage, with teachers short and toilets broken.
Not all the German marches stayed peaceful. Police ended a march early in Cologne after protesters used pyrotechnics, threw stones and covered their faces despite a ban, and used water cannons to disperse demonstrators. In Hamburg, some protesters shot fireworks at officers and burned barricades, and police responded with water cannons and tear gas. In Frankfurt, protesters pummeled police with stones, injuring several officers.
Elsewhere in Europe, thousands of people, including families with small children, gathered in downtown Lisbon to protest Portugal's housing crisis, holding placards reading "Houses or Fire" and "We are not Afraid." The turnout in France has slipped each week, but the spread to neighboring countries suggests the anger over costs and schools is not confined to Macron's government.
