Police Fire Tear Gas As New French Protests Kick Off

French cities prepared for nationwide protests over the high cost of living after rioting the previous weekend. Authorities aimed to stop demonstrations from turning into clashes, looting, or damage while allowing some approved marches to continue.

In Lyon, about 150 protesters gathered near the city centre, where demonstrations were banned. When some briefly blocked a road, police fired tear gas and dispersed them. In Paris, police moved a union march from Bastille to Porte d’Italie, while officers confiscated forbidden items. Shops removed merchandise or covered windows with wooden boards, and the Louvre and Musée d’Orsay closed.

The response showed how strongly the earlier violence shaped Saturday’s events. Seventy thousand security personnel were mobilised nationwide. Paris police described the situation as calm at midday, but restrictions and heavy policing drew criticism from Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, unions, shopworkers, and the Yellow Vests.

Tear gas is a chemical irritant used to temporarily affect the eyes and airways. It can cause intense tearing, coughing, burning, and difficulty seeing. Police use it as a crowd-control tool when they want people to move away from a particular place or stop an action.

In Lyon, about 150 protesters gathered near the city centre, where demonstrations had been banned. Some briefly tried to block a road. Police fired tear gas and dispersed them before the gathering developed further. An AFP journalist witnessed the operation. A student said police were dispersing marches before they could even form.

The tactic was part of a wider security operation after violent unrest the previous weekend. Police were trying to prevent clashes, damage, and looting. However, using tear gas during demonstrations can intensify tensions and raise questions about proportionality, especially when authorities also restrict where people may protest.

The security operation was national in scale. France’s interior ministry said 70,000 security personnel were mobilised to counter what it called a high threat of violence. Police deployments included riot vehicles, armoured trucks, and a water cannon in Marseille.

The operation followed widespread disorder the previous weekend. Rioters on the margins of demonstrations clashed with police, vandalised public buildings, and looted hundreds of stores. Authorities arrested about 2,700 people during that unrest. Courts later sent 217 people to prison, officials said.

Those figures explain the unusually visible policing and preparations around Saturday’s protests. Authorities banned some demonstrations, moved a Paris march, and sought to separate approved union-led events from gatherings they considered illegitimate. The heavy deployment reduced the immediate risk in some places, but it also prompted criticism that public-order measures were threatening peaceful protest rights.

Authorities restricted demonstrations because earlier protests had produced serious disorder. Rioters had clashed with police, damaged public buildings, and looted stores. The interior ministry therefore described the threat of violence as high and mobilised 70,000 security personnel across France.

In Lyon, demonstrations near the city centre were banned. When about 150 protesters gathered and some briefly blocked a road, police used tear gas to disperse them. In Paris, police moved a union-organised march from Bastille to the more remote Porte d’Italie. Macron said authorities would accept only union-led demonstrations and reject others they considered illegitimate.

The restrictions did not remove opposition. Unions reluctantly accepted the relocation, while the Yellow Vests called it an authoritarian drift and urged more demonstrations on October 31. Amnesty International also criticised the measures. The response exposed the difficult line between preventing violence and preserving the right to protest peacefully.

Emmanuel Macron is described as a pro-business centrist leader and France’s president. Marine Le Pen is the leading figure associated with the National Rally party, which held a congress in Orleans. The congress launched her campaign for the election in six months to choose Macron’s successor.

That political event coincided with demonstrations against Le Pen and Macron. Thousands marched while shouting anti-fascist slogans and “Macron resign. Le Pen in prison.” Police estimated the crowd at 11,000, while organisers claimed 26,000. Surveys described Le Pen as best-placed to win the coming vote.

The overlap increased tensions during an already volatile protest day. Demonstrators were angry about rising living costs and classroom conditions, while Macron blamed the worst earlier violence on “ultra-left” groups. The protests therefore combined economic grievances, opposition to the government, and fear or rejection of Le Pen’s political rise.

The previous weekend’s nationwide demonstrations were followed by violent disorder on their margins. Rioters clashed with police, vandalised public buildings, and looted hundreds of stores. The unrest transformed protests over living costs and other grievances into a major public-order and economic crisis.

About 2,700 people were arrested. Courts had already sent 217 people to prison, and officials said half of those prisoners were first-time offenders. The retail sector reported that damage and stolen stock suffered by shopowners totalled hundreds of millions of euros. These losses affected stores beyond the immediate protest sites.

The consequences shaped Saturday’s preparations. Retailers boarded up windows, removed merchandise, or closed, while the Louvre and Musée d’Orsay also shut. Police deployed across major cities, and authorities restricted some marches. The government tried to distinguish legitimate protest demands from looting and destruction, but the restrictions themselves triggered criticism about democratic freedoms.

The right to peaceful assembly means people can gather publicly to express political views, share grievances, and demand change without violence. It is a core democratic freedom because public protest gives citizens a visible way to challenge government decisions and influence debate.

Public safety creates a difficult limit. In France, earlier demonstrations were followed by clashes with police, damaged public buildings, and looting. Authorities then banned some marches, moved a Paris demonstration, and used tear gas in Lyon when protesters briefly blocked a road. Police said they were preventing disorder, while protesters and rights groups said restrictions threatened their freedom.

The government sought to allow union-led demonstrations while stopping gatherings it considered illegitimate. Amnesty International called this an authoritarian slide. Human Rights Watch said police must both enable peaceful protests and protect the public from violent disorder. The continuing dispute shows why both rights and safety require careful, proportionate decisions.