Police Arrest 135, Seize Weapons Ahead of France Protests

Metal balls, lead pellets, fireworks and slingshots were among the items French police seized while arresting 135 people ahead of Saturday’s protests. The arrests came as authorities prepared for another day of demonstrations after last weekend’s looting and damage, sending up to 70,000 officers across the country. ⁴

Those 70,000 officers were sent to guard streets as protests spread from Paris to cities including Lyon, Clermont-Ferrand and Orléans. Police used tear gas in Lyon, where a rally was banned, and tear gas and stun grenades in Clermont-Ferrand. In Paris, authorities moved the main march away from the city center to a route between Porte d’Italie and Porte de Vincennes. Thousands gathered at Porte d’Italie, but fewer than a week earlier. ^2,14

That smaller Paris crowd gathered around a movement that began with students protesting staff shortages at a high school southeast of the capital. It widened to include demands for better schools, higher wages and pensions, and relief from rising living costs. More than half a million people marched the previous Saturday, and about 3,000 shops were damaged or looted. The unrest has also disrupted daily life: museums including the Louvre closed, and Art Basel Paris cancelled its weekend program. ^2,13

Those closed museums and shops show the cost of trying to prevent a repeat of the violence: even visitors and businesses far from the marches couldn’t visit or do business. President Emmanuel Macron met high school representatives on Friday and, they said, promised changes to university admissions. They want firm measures before ending protests. Saturday’s demonstrations tested whether a heavy police presence and restricted routes could contain unrest while leaving room for public protest. ^2,4