France deploys 70,000 police as nationwide protests over living costs and public services intensify
By Jahanzaib Saqib — SCN NEWS
PARIS, October 24, 2026 — France deployed 70,000 police officers and gendarmes across the country on Saturday as tens of thousands of demonstrators took to the streets over rising living costs, school conditions and public services, confronting President Emmanuel Macron's government with another day of nationwide unrest following violent disturbances a week earlier.
The deployment, involving 10,000 more security personnel than the previous Saturday, was designed to prevent a repeat of the looting, arson and attacks on businesses that accompanied demonstrations on October 17. Interior Minister Laurent Nunez ordered security forces to respond rapidly to violence, while authorities deployed specialist units, helicopters and armoured vehicles around sensitive locations in major cities.
Large crowds marched in Paris, where the main demonstration was largely peaceful despite tensions over police restrictions on its route. Organisers challenged a last-minute decision moving the march away from central districts, arguing that the change complicated arrangements for participants. Authorities defended the restrictions as necessary to protect businesses, transport facilities and public buildings following the previous weekend's destruction.
The security operation brought significant disruption to the French capital, with the Louvre, Musée d'Orsay and Paris Opera closing for the day and more than 20 metro stations shutting down. Shops in several commercial districts boarded up their windows, while police vehicles patrolled major landmarks and soldiers from an anti-terrorism unit monitored the Champs-Élysées. The precautions reflected concerns that smaller groups could exploit the demonstrations to carry out further attacks on property.
Clashes were reported in several cities as police confronted groups of protesters and used tear gas to disperse disturbances, including in Lyon. Nunez said 135 people had been arrested nationwide by early afternoon, a provisional figure that did not represent the final number of detentions. Police said some searches had uncovered fireworks, ball bearings and other objects that could be used as weapons.
The protests began with demonstrations by secondary school students demanding better learning conditions and additional resources for education, but have since expanded into a wider movement involving trade unions, workers and people concerned about household finances. Demonstrators have criticised pressure on wages, the cost of essential goods and what they describe as declining public services. The government has acknowledged the legitimacy of peaceful grievances while maintaining that vandalism and attacks on police cannot be tolerated.
Macron met representatives of secondary school students on Friday in an effort to address the growing movement, but student leaders said they were still waiting for concrete government proposals. Further discussions with Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu were expected on Monday. Student representatives called for demonstrations to continue until authorities offered a substantive response to their demands.
The scale of the security operation followed criticism of the government's handling of the previous weekend's unrest, when peaceful marches were overshadowed in several locations by extensive property damage and confrontations with police. Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin said on Friday that courts had already sentenced 217 people to prison in connection with the earlier violence, including many with no previous criminal convictions.
Civil liberties organisations have also questioned the breadth of restrictions imposed on Saturday's demonstrations. Amnesty International warned that limits on protest routes and bans on gatherings could interfere with the right to peaceful assembly, while Human Rights Watch raised concerns about injuries associated with crowd-control weapons. French authorities maintained that their measures were intended to prevent violence rather than prohibit legitimate political expression.
In Marseille, officials allowed a trade union demonstration to proceed after initially imposing wider restrictions, while parts of central Lyon remained subject to security controls. The different arrangements across French cities reflected attempts by local authorities to balance public safety concerns with the continuation of organised demonstrations.
A separate political gathering took place in Orléans, where thousands marched against the far-right National Rally as the party held its congress. The demonstration added to an already tense political weekend ahead of France's 2027 presidential election, although it was distinct from the broader movement over education, wages and public services.
The protests have placed renewed pressure on Macron's administration to respond to public dissatisfaction while demonstrating that security forces can prevent another outbreak of widespread violence. Government officials insist that additional police deployments are necessary to protect residents and businesses, while organisers argue that security measures alone will not address the grievances driving people into the streets.
By Saturday afternoon, demonstrations were continuing in several parts of the country under heavy police supervision. Authorities had not released a final nationwide estimate of participation, arrests or injuries, and the full extent of the day's disturbances remained subject to further updates.