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French police clash with protesters as tens of thousands rally over cost of living

17 October 2026 19:50 (UTC +04:00)

Clashes broke out between police and protesters in cities across France on Saturday as tens of thousands of people angered by rising costs and declining public services took to the streets in some of the country's most violent protests in years, APA reports citing Reuters.

The ‌Interior Ministry said 272 people had been arrested by mid-afternoon after violent incidents involving hooded individuals, including in Paris, Marseille in the south, Toulouse in the southwest, Angers in the west and Lyon in east-central France.

The protesters said most people were protesting peacefully and put much of the violence down to troublemakers who had set out to cause damage and clash with the police.

The ministry said, however, that violence was increasing, and that there had been "confrontations with law enforcement, looting or attempted looting of shops, attacks on and damage to public buildings." It blamed the unrest on what it described as the "ultra-left".

In some parts of Paris, police occasionally fired tear gas rounds as they retreated in the face ⁠of mostly young protesters, many of whom were dressed in black and wore hoodies, masks and goggles to protect against tear gas.

Some tourists at a fashionable department store near the Paris opera were seen spluttering when they were caught in clouds of tear gas, and shops nearby were hastily shuttered. Windows of many shops and restaurants in the capital were smashed, and cars and trash cans were set on fire.

In Lyon, protesters torched the tourist office.

In Marseille, the mayor said the town hall had been vandalised and that additional police were being sent to the city following talks with the government.

In protests partly inspired by those in France, several hundred mostly young people also protested in Brussels on Saturday, and some clashed with police. Belgian student groups have said they are protesting against rising education costs and reforms they fear will make higher education less accessible.