Protestsupdated 51m ago2 min read
MapLaurent Nuñez Says Police Arrest Nearly 1,000 In Paris Protests Over School Funding
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Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said nearly 1,000 arrests nationwide after protests. Protests centered on school funding and rising cost of living.
Arrests and clashes
French authorities said police made nearly 1,000 arrests in Paris and other French cities as fresh protests over school funding and the cost of living turned violent near the end of a march. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said police made nearly 1,000 arrests, and he added that the number was expected to increase as more were counted. The Interior Ministry put nationwide turnout at 410,000, while the CGT union that helped organise some of Saturday's protests estimated nearly 800,000.
“The government says police made nearly 1,000 arrests.”
Masked protesters hurled objects and fireworks at police near the demonstration's endpoint in eastern Paris, and police answered with tear gas, sound grenades, and jets of water cannons. The Interior Ministry said violence erupted at the end of some of the 289 protests counted nationwide as dusk fell on Saturday.
Police response and injuries
The interior ministry said an estimated 410,000 people protested on Saturday, while unions put the number at about 800,000, as police fired tear gas and water cannon to disperse protesters in cities including Paris.
The interior ministry said 53 officers were hurt in clashes across the country on Saturday, and it also reported that police responded to 75 fires during the protests.
In Paris, the clashes erupted at the end of a peaceful march from Porte d'Italie towards Porte de Vincennes, where police said an elite unit usually deals with organised crime and counter-terrorism.
A protester in Lyon described how tear gas arrived almost immediately, saying, "Then the tear gas came almost immediately. You could barely see anything in the street,".
Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said two people had been "seriously injured," one in Toulouse and another in Clermont-Ferrand, and he said the number of arrests across the country would likely rise.
Macron’s political stakes
French President Emmanuel Macron faced a test of his authority as the unrest challenged his final months in power, with the protests described as a fresh challenge to his government. The ABC report said the unrest was testing Mr Macron's authority in the final months of his presidency before voters choose his successor in May, and it said the Paris march began peacefully a week after widespread rioting and looting during protests across the country. The BBC said Macron had decreed earlier this week that only demonstrations organised by a recognised trade unions would be permitted, and it said hundreds of people had been jailed for vandalism, arson and looting after fast-track court hearings.
In Paris, a protester told the BBC people were in the streets because they were "really frustrated" and had been "suffering a lot" since Macron came to office. The BBC also said clashes between protesters and riot police in Paris erupted at the end of a peaceful march, and it quoted Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez saying "several thousand radical activists gathered at the rear of the march, including around 500 individuals identified as rioters".