Students, trade unionists and other demonstrators are taking to the streets in France over education, public services and living costs. Follow the latest developments in our rolling coverage.
France protests, Saturday 24 October: updates from Paris and other cities, with Euronews’ Paris broadcast. Photographs labelled 17 October show earlier demonstrations.
Update
Interior Ministry puts nationwide turnout at 410,000
France’s Interior Ministry estimated that 410,000 people demonstrated nationwide on 24 October. Unions put participation at roughly twice the official figure.
Reuters reported clashes in Marseille, Lyon, Bordeaux and Grenoble. Authorities deployed 70,000 police officers and gendarmes. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said 135 arrests had been made nationwide by early afternoon; that was an interim figure.
The Financial Times separately reported 65 arrests and about 3,000 police searches in Paris.
Archive photograph: people amid tear gas in Paris on 17 October 2026, one week before today's demonstrations.By JAM Editorial Team
Update
Serious hand injury reported in Toulouse
Haute-Garonne’s prefecture confirmed a serious hand injury during clashes near Toulouse’s Arènes district, Le Monde reported at 6.04pm French time. The cause had not been established; judicial investigations would examine the circumstances.
Paris police estimated 110,000 participants. Later, officers used water cannon and tear gas near Porte de Vincennes after projectiles were thrown, according to Le Monde’s reporting of police statements.
