France's Interior Ministry reported 106,000 protesters nationwide on Saturday, including 24,000 in Paris, as demonstrations over the cost of living and a proposed police bill continued for a fifth consecutive weekend.
More than 100,000 people took to the streets across France on Saturday, according to the country's Interior Ministry. The ministry said 106,000 people protested nationwide, including 24,000 in Paris. The turnout was lower than the previous weekend, when authorities recorded 146,000 participants nationwide, including 46,000 in Paris.
Demonstrators gathered for the fifth consecutive weekend of protests over the rising cost of living, education funding, children's rights and a proposed law granting greater protection to police officers using firearms. The protests brought together the Yellow Vest movement, students, education unions and other activists.
Student unions placed Saturday's protest numbers higher, at 200,000 people, including almost 100,000 in the capital.
Some 70,000 police officers and gendarmes were deployed nationwide to oversee between 50 and 60 planned marches. The Interior Ministry said 219 people were detained across the country, while Paris prosecutors recorded 45 arrests in the capital.
The ministry said the situation was generally under control despite clashes in several cities, including Marseille, Grenoble, Lyon, Bordeaux, Montpellier, Toulouse and Lille, where projectiles and mortars were thrown at law enforcement officers. Ten police officers sustained minor injuries, and journalists in Lyon were assaulted, according to the ministry.
Unions have called for a new day of strikes on Tuesday after rejecting a government promise to increase the minimum wage by 0.6 percent as "crumbs". The demonstrations on Tuesday will take place on the eighth anniversary of the Gilet Jaune movement, which began in 2018 with protests triggered by rising fuel prices.
Sources
This article was drafted with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. Company claims are reported as claims. Cover image is AI-generated.
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