On a Halloween Saturday that began as a carnival of costumes and brass bands, France once again found its streets divided between a national protest movement and the forces sent to contain its edges. The turnout, though still hundreds of thousands strong, has been shrinking week by week, as if the country were asking itself how long a grievance can hold a crowd together. Beneath the masks and the bans lies a familiar human question: what happens when young people who want to be heard are met with shields, and when the demands they carry, over schools and loans, remain unanswered as the new sch
France's Protests Swell Again as Halloween Brings Masked Marches and Fresh Clashes With Police
Protesters and police were injured in clashes; a young woman was seen bleeding from the face, and the authorities reported arrests and a car set alight.
On a Halloween Saturday that began as a carnival of costumes and brass bands, France once again found its streets divided between a national protest movement and the forces sent to contain its edges. The turnout, though still hundreds of thousands strong, has been shrinking week by week, as if the country were asking itself how long a grievance can hold a crowd together. Beneath the masks and the bans lies a familiar human question: what happens when young people who want to be heard are met with shields, and when the demands they carry, over schools and loans, remain unanswered as the new school week begins.
The morning began as a festival. In Paris, brass bands played, parents turned up dressed as "super parents," and a balcony candy toss drew cheers from the authorized march. It was Halloween, and it was also another Saturday in a national protest movement now two months old, one that began with high school students in Créteil and has since drawn university students, public workers and veterans of the yellow vest protests.
The numbers told a story of fatigue. The interior ministry counted 320,000 demonstrators nationwide, down from 410,000 the week before. Paris drew 70,000, against 110,000 the Saturday before. Behind those figures stood a government that had promised 70,000 police and banned evening gatherings after calls for "revolution" and "insurrection" spread online. Costumes, too, had become a message. Marchers said they were answering the riots of Oct. 17 and wanted to reclaim their cause from the far right. One protester came as a prisoner riding a dinosaur, wearing a Marine Le Pen mask, insisting that protest should still be fun.
That mood did not last. As the rally broke up, a procession of several hundred, many in black with faces covered, formed on Avenue Daumesnil. Among them were two street medics, Morgane Voisin, 22, and Corentin Schnell, 19, who said his younger brother had been tear-gassed at an earlier protest. Hours later, police faced 200 to 300 people who refused to disperse. Molotov cocktails and fireworks were thrown, a car was set alight, and tear gas filled the streets. A reporter saw a young woman with a bleeding face being tended by medics. Similar clashes broke out in Marseille, Lyon, Toulouse and Rennes.
The grievances that started it all remain unsettled. The Education Ministry has offered to cap some class sizes, provide low-interest loans to rebuild schools and phase out an unpopular college admissions platform, but students have said it is not enough. As schools reopen Monday, the government is also weighing tighter controls on social media, though President Macron has denied any plan to suspend platforms. What comes next will depend on whether the bans and arrests quiet the streets, or whether they give the movement a new reason to keep going.
By mid-afternoon on Saturday, the authorized march in Paris had the feel of a street party. Brass bands played, parents showed up dressed as "super parents," and someone on a balcony tossed candy down to the crowd, drawing cheers. It was Halloween, and in France it was also the latest in a run of Saturdays given over to a national protest movement that has kept the country on edge.
By the interior ministry's estimate, 320,000 people demonstrated across France, down from 410,000 the week before and 550,000 the week before that. In Paris, police counted 70,000 marchers, against 110,000 the previous Saturday. Organizers had not yet issued their own figures, which typically run far higher. At 2 p.m., the ministry had counted 15,000 people at 65 protests, compared with 37,000 at the same hour a week earlier and 67,000 on Oct. 17. It also reported 27 arrests by that point, against 217 at the same time last Saturday.
The government was braced for more than the numbers suggested. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez had promised 70,000 police officers, matching the deployment of Oct. 24, which helped contain arson and looting even though police still clashed with crowds in the evening. At a news conference, he said calls were circulating from the far left and from certain radicalized "yellow vest" websites for gatherings at 8 p.m. in many cities. Some messages demanded "revolution" and "insurrection." Those gatherings would be banned, he said, and attempts to hold them would lead to arrests. Online appeals had also urged people to wear Halloween costumes, and Mr. Nuñez reminded the public that concealing one's face at a demonstration that disrupts public order is a crime. At the Place de la Bastille, officers in helmets with shields patrolled in groups while a loudspeaker warned of a 135-euro fine. Union and student organizers had again hoped to start there, and again police moved them to the city's eastern edge.
Many marchers said the costumes were a deliberate answer to Oct. 17, when riots spilled out of marches across the country and brought destruction and looting. Helen Olive, 50, said she worried the riots had been exploited by the far right: "We want to turn that narrative around." Arthur Fleury, a 20-year-old literature student, came as a prisoner riding a dinosaur, wearing a Marine Le Pen mask. Protests, he said, are about making demands but also having fun. Even so, a half-dozen masked protesters dressed in black pushed burning trash bins through the crowd, and other demonstrators put out the fire with water, prompting a small scuffle. "That's no way to protest," one of them said.
As the rally ended, the mood changed. A procession of several hundred, many in black with faces covered, formed along Avenue Daumesnil, some dancing to music from speakers while waiters hurried to pull in outdoor seating. Among them were two street medics in white, Morgane Voisin, 22, a sales consultant, and Corentin Schnell, 19, an engineering student. Mr. Schnell said his younger brother had been tear-gassed and nearly hit by a stun grenade at an earlier protest. "The mere fact that people are being injured by the police makes me furious," he said. Ms. Voisin said her own younger siblings had faced harsh conditions in high school. Later, police were skirmishing with 200 to 300 people who refused to disperse; Paris police said they threw Molotov cocktails and fireworks, and a car was set on fire. Tear gas was fired, and a reporter saw a young woman with a bleeding face surrounded by medics. Clashes also broke out in Marseille, Lyon, Toulouse and Rennes, where police used tear gas and water cannons.
The underlying demands remain unresolved. Students return to class Monday after a two-week break. The Education Ministry has offered to cap some class sizes, give low-interest loans to rebuild school buildings and phase out an unpopular online college admissions platform, but students were not satisfied and vowed to keep protesting. The two-month-old movement began with high school demonstrations in suburban Paris, starting in Créteil, and now includes university students, public workers and veterans of the 2018-2020 yellow vest movement. Officials also confirmed that young men linked to the far right have infiltrated demonstrations, ostensibly to protect shop owners.
The government is also focused on social media. After a report that Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu had asked telecom operators to be ready to block Snapchat, TikTok and Instagram, President Emmanuel Macron denied any suspension plan. He said platforms would be required to remove illegal content and stay vigilant about misuse of certain features. Mr. Lecornu's office declined to comment on the letter. What to watch now is Monday's return to school and whether the evening bans and arrests quiet the streets or feed the movement.
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