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France deploys 70,000 police to try to contain nationwide protests
Reuters • • general
Key Points:
- Tens of thousands marched peacefully in Paris against the high cost of living and government cuts, with police observing amid a heavier security presence than the previous week.
- Clashes and tear gas usage occurred in several cities including Clermont-Ferrand, Grenoble, Lille, Nice, Marseille, and Lyon, but overall unrest was less severe than prior demonstrations.
- Central Paris experienced significant precautions with boarded-up shops, closed museums, and limited metro service following damage and looting during last weekend’s protests.
- Leftist leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon praised the discipline of protesters and warned that demonstrations would persist unless President Macron addressed social inequalities.
- The protests coincided with Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally party congress in Orléans, where demonstrators also rallied against far-right ideologies amid heightened tensions following a recent Islamophobic shooting near Paris.
