French police started firing tear gas at protesters on Saturday (October 24, 2026) as they stepped up security in major cities aiming to prevent a repeat of rioting a week ago, on a day of fresh nationwide demonstrations over the high cost of living.
asserted
they → fire → living
Police in the southeast city of Lyon fired tear gas to disperse some 150 protesters near the city centre -- where demonstrations had been banned -- when they briefly tried to block a road, an AFP journalist saw.
asserted
journalist → fire → road
They come and disperse marches before they even form,” said a 21-year-old student who had turned up to protest, speaking on condition of anonymity.
asserted
who → come → anonymity
Elsewhere, authorities and rattled shopkeepers geared up for potential new street violence.
asserted
authorities → rattle → violence
Near Paris’s Bastille neighbourhood, a clothing store had removed all its merchandise from shelves ahead of the demonstrations, while a nearby restaurant was boarded up with signs insisting it was “still open”.
asserted
it → remove → signs
Many other retailers in the capital also had wooden boards covering their windows.
asserted
boards → have → windows
The Louvre and the Musee d’Orsay museums were closed.
asserted
museums → close → ?
The capital’s police said at midday officers had confiscated “various forbidden items” but described the situation as “calm”.
asserted
officers → say → calm
France imposes curfew as school protests turn violent | Above the Fold | Oct 20, 2026
asserted
protests → impose → Fold
In Marseille, riot squad vehicles, armoured trucks and a water cannon were parked in the city centre, while police elsewhere prepared for potential clashes.
asserted
police → park → clashes
They were among 70,000 security personnel the interior ministry said were mobilised to counter the “high” threat of violence.
asserted
ministry → say → violence
Protest against Le Pen’s party
Adding to tensions, Marine Le Pen’s National Rally party held a congress in Orleans to launch her campaign for elections in six months to choose President Emmanuel Macron’s successor.
asserted
party → add → successor
Thousands of people yelling anti-fascist slogans marched on Saturday (October 24) against Ms. Le Pen, and also against Mr. Macron, a pro-business centrist leader.
asserted
Thousands → yell → Macron
“Macron resign.
asserted
Macron → resign → ?
Le Pen in prison,” the crowd yelled.
asserted
crowd → yell → prison
Police put their numbers at 11,000 while organisers said 26,000 took part.
asserted
26,000 → put → part
The unrest highlighted tensions in France ahead of the vote, which Ms. Le Pen is best-placed, according to surveys, to win.
uncertain
Pen → highlight → surveys
Last weekend saw rioters on the margins of the nationwide demonstrations clash with police, vandalise public buildings and loot hundreds of stores.
asserted
rioters → see → stores
Some 2,700 people were arrested, and the retail sector said shop owners were left with damage and stolen stock totalling hundreds of millions of euros.
asserted
owners → arrest → euros
Mr. Macron attributed the worst of the violence to “ultra-left” groups that he said “want to bring down the republic”.
asserted
he → attribute → republic
Groups organising Saturday’s (October 24) renewed demonstrations have accused Mr. Macron and his government of ignoring widespread public anger over rising costs, and over classroom conditions for students.
asserted
Groups → organise → students
Inflation in France, as elsewhere, has been sent surging by the West Asia war, started in February against Iran by U.S. President Donald Trump and Israel.
asserted
Inflation → send → Trump
Protests have also been taking place in Italy, Belgium, Spain and Portugal over different issues, yet with some overlap on inflation and education problems.
asserted
Protests → take → inflation
Italy has mobilised 500 troops to Milan after street violence there.
asserted
Italy → mobilise → violence
In Paris, streets on Saturday (October 24) were unusually quiet, with many shop windows boarded up, and some of the bigger retailers sent messages to customers warning that they were closed for the day.
asserted
they → board → day
The capital’s police at the last minute ordered a union-organised march in the city to be moved from Bastille, in the centre-east, to the more remote eastern Porte d’Italie on the southern rim of the capital.
asserted
march → order → capital
Unions said they reluctantly would go along with that.
asserted
they → say → that
But the Yellow Vests, who staged disruptive protests against Mr. Macron eight years ago, denounced an “authoritarian drift” and called for yet more demonstrations on October 31 for “the freedom to protest”.
A shopworker in the city of Rennes told AFP: “Bans are sometimes worse.
asserted
Bans → stag → AFP
Protesting is a right, and when you ban it you make it even more tempting.”
asserted
it → ban → it
Mr. Macron and his government have sought to draw a line between the legitimate demands of protesters and the looting, burning and ransacking that erupted on the sidelines of demonstrations last Saturday (October 24).
asserted
that → seek → demonstrations
Courts have already sent 217 people, half of them first-time offenders, to prison over the events on Saturday (October 24), officials said.
asserted
officials → send → Saturday
Mr. Macron has said authorities would accept only union-led demonstrations and would counter any others they deemed “illegitimate”.
asserted
they → say → others
The restrictions, including outright bans on protests in some cities, have drawn criticism.
asserted
restrictions → include → criticism
Also read | Fall of the centre: on the public discontent in France
Amnesty International denounced what it called “a slide toward authoritarian practice”, saying the measures were “jeopardising the right to demonstrate peacefully”.
asserted
measures → read → right
“Police have a responsibility both to ensure that protests can take place peacefully and safely and to protect the public from violent disorder,” said Eva Cosse, senior Europe researcher at Human Rights Watch.
asserted
Cosse → have → Watch
The Aporia
