PARIS — France on this Saturday (31) had its third consecutive weekend of protests, marked by clashes between protesters and security forces in Paris and other major cities.
The fear of looting and a generalized wave of violence, which came to be called the “night of darkness” due to the Halloween date coincidence, led the government to set up an exceptional security scheme, with 70 thousand civil and military police mobilized across the country.
The operation contained a larger escalation, but did not prevent episodes of violence, especially during the dispersal of the official demonstrations.
The Interior Ministry’s tally points to 565 people detained and five members of the security forces injured. The mobilization brought together 320 thousand people, according to the government, while organizers estimated nearly 500 thousand participants.
In Paris, the most serious incident occurred at the end of the march, in the Porte de Charenton area. Groups of protesters threw stones and Molotov cocktails at police. One of the devices struck a member of the security forces, who sustained minor injuries. The Interior Minister, Laurent Nuñez, described the episode as an attempted homicide.
In total, five officers were injured in the capital, three of them hit by Molotov cocktails.
The security forces’ operation was marked by checkpoints, searches, encirclement of protest groups and interventions to prevent crowds from moving toward shopping areas and city centers.
In the capital, armored vehicles circulated even before the start of the gatherings, while shops protected their windows with wooden boards. More than 40 thousand police stops were carried out across the country to seize items deemed potentially dangerous.
Despite the security apparatus, clashes also occurred in cities such as Marseille, Grenoble and Rennes. Security forces used tear gas, dispersion grenades and, in some places, water jets to contain groups throwing objects and trying to advance through the streets. In Marseille, fires and looting attempts were recorded.
Clashes in front of the tower
The main landmark of Paris became the scene of more clashes late at night. In Trocadéro, in front of the Eiffel Tower, hundreds of people, many dressed in Halloween costumes, gathered to dance, make videos and take photographs. The gathering was predominantly festive in nature, although small groups of protesters also appeared in the area.
There was unrest and the police moved in, firing tear gas to disperse the crowd. The more violent participants responded by throwing objects and explosive devices at the police.
The mobilization comes on the eve of the resumption of classes in lycées, scheduled for Monday (2). Student organizations have already announced new actions and promise to block educational establishments on Tuesday (3) and Thursday (5), in addition to a day of strikes and demonstrations called by unions for Thursday.
