On a Saturday at the close of October, French streets filled once again with people who could no longer absorb the rising price of ordinary life, some of them in Halloween costumes, as they marched for the third weekend in a row. Most of them, by the government's own account, came peacefully, and yet the day ended as it so often does when a crowd grows large enough to hold its own edges, with clashes in Paris and other cities, more than 500 arrests, and a police officer struck by a Molotov cocktail. The Interior Minister, Laurent Nunez, found himself holding two truths at once: that the marche
Clashes Erupt as Hundreds of Thousands Protest Soaring Living Costs Across France
More than 500 people were arrested and a police officer was struck by a Molotov cocktail during clashes in Paris.
Marchers in Halloween costumes; at the edges, tear gas and water cannons
Mark
Three weekends in a row. Why does that matter more than one big day?
Mimi
Because one day can be a spike. Three weekends of hundreds of thousands says the anger over living costs isn't fading, and people keep showing up.
Mark
And the Halloween costumes? That seems almost incongruous next to tear gas.
Mimi
It tells you who most of the marchers were. Ordinary people, some in costume, marching. The clashes were on the sidelines.
Luke
Careful there. The minister said the marches were largely orderly. That's his characterization. We don't have an independent count of how many people were involved in the violence.
Mark
What about the 500 arrests?
Mimi
It's the hardest number in the story. More than 500 people detained in a single day is large, though we're not told how many were charged.
Luke
Right, and arrests aren't convictions. We also don't know the split between Paris and other cities.
Mark
The Molotov cocktail incident?
Mimi
It's what Nunez pointed to when condemning the disorder. An officer was struck.
Luke
And we don't know the officer's condition. Nor do we know what the protesters are formally demanding or what the government plans to do. Those gaps are real.
El Pulso
- Hundreds of thousands returned to the streets for a third straight weekend, and the momentum has not faded.
- Water cannons and tear gas cut through the evening in Paris and other cities as clashes broke out at the margins of the marches.
- More than 500 people were detained in a single day, and the figure stands as the sharpest measure of how far the disorder reached.
- A police officer was hit by a Molotov cocktail in Paris, and his condition has yet to be made public.
- Interior Minister Laurent Nunez is trying to hold the line between praising peaceful marchers and condemning those who turned violent.
- The next weekend will show whether the movement can keep its size or whether the government's response will change its shape.
On a Saturday at the close of October, French streets filled once again with people who could no longer absorb the rising price of ordinary life, some of them in Halloween costumes, as they marched for the third weekend in a row. Most of them, by the government's own account, came peacefully, and yet the day ended as it so often does when a crowd grows large enough to hold its own edges, with clashes in Paris and other cities, more than 500 arrests, and a police officer struck by a Molotov cocktail. The Interior Minister, Laurent Nunez, found himself holding two truths at once: that the marches were largely orderly, and that the violence could not be excused. The larger story here is an old one, the tension between a people's grievance over what things cost and the question of how that grievance is to be voiced without tipping into harm.
On Saturday, protesters in Halloween costumes marched through French streets, and by nightfall police in Paris and other cities were firing water cannons and tear gas at those who had drifted to the edges of the crowds. It was the third consecutive weekend of demonstrations against the rising cost of living, and hundreds of thousands took part across the country. By the government's account, most of them were ordinary protesters who came to march peacefully, some of them dressed up for the holiday weekend ahead.
The trouble came from the sidelines. Clashes erupted in Paris and elsewhere, and more than 500 people were arrested over the course of the day. One incident stood out: a police officer in Paris was struck by a Molotov cocktail. The report does not say how badly he was hurt.
Interior Minister Laurent Nunez struck a double note. He said the marches had been largely orderly, but he condemned the violence, especially the attack on the officer. The picture is of a movement that has held its size for three weekends, with a smaller, angrier element gathering at its edges. What the protesters are demanding in concrete terms, and how the government plans to answer them, remains unspelled in this account. The question now is whether a fourth weekend follows.
On Saturday, protesters in Halloween costumes marched through French streets, and by the end of the day police in Paris and other cities were firing water cannons and tear gas at rioters on the edges of the crowds.
It was the third consecutive weekend of demonstrations against soaring living costs in France. Hundreds of thousands of people took part across the country. Most of them, by the account of the government, were regular protesters who came to march, some of them dressed up for the night before Halloween's holiday weekend.
The disorder came from the sidelines. Clashes broke out in Paris and in other French cities, and police used water cannons and tear gas to disperse those they described as rioters. More than 500 people were arrested over the course of the day.
One incident in Paris stood out. A police officer was struck by a Molotov cocktail. The source material does not say how seriously the officer was hurt, and no further detail on the officer's condition was given.
Interior Minister Laurent Nunez addressed the day's events in two registers. He said the marches themselves had been largely orderly, which is to say that the great majority of those who turned out did so peacefully. But he denounced the disorder, singling out the attack on the officer in Paris.
The picture that emerges is of a protest movement that has held its size and its momentum for three weekends running, with a smaller, more violent element attaching itself to the edges of the marches. The numbers on the street are described only as hundreds of thousands, and the report gives no breakdown by city. The arrest total of more than 500 is the one firm figure to come out of the day.
What the protesters are demanding in concrete terms, and how the government intends to respond, were not spelled out in this report. What it does establish is the pattern: a weekly mobilization over the cost of living, a police response that escalates when violence appears, and a minister trying to separate the two. Whether a fourth weekend of demonstrations follows is the question to watch.
Citas Notables
The marches were largely orderly, but he condemned the disorder, including the Molotov cocktail attack on a police officer in Paris.— Interior Minister Laurent Nunez (paraphrased)
Quieres la nota completa?
Lee el original en The Japan Times ↗
Politics & Governance