Clashes break out as hundreds of thousands protest in France

A protest over the rising cost of living and inequality, in Marseille, southern France, on Saturday | AFP-JIJI

AFP-Jiji

Nov 1, 2026

Paris – Clashes erupted in Paris and other French cities on Saturday after hundreds of thousands of people staged a third weekend of protests at soaring living costs.

More than 500 people were arrested as police fired water cannons and tear gas to disperse rioters on the sidelines of the demonstrations, where regular protesters marched in Halloween costumes.

While Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said the marches had been largely orderly, he denounced the disorder, including an incident in Paris when a police officer was struck by a Molotov cocktail.

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