Reporter caught in violent Paris protests recalls how 'all of a sudden, it exploded' after peaceful march

A New York Post reporter caught in the chaos of violent protests in Paris recounted how a peaceful march of more than 100,000 people took a frightening turn.

"All of a sudden, it exploded," Gabrielle Fahmy recalled Tuesday on "Fox & Friends."

"When it got dark, when they reached the endpoint of the march, it's like they didn't know what to do anymore," she continued.

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The crowd dispersing from Reform Square set up barricades in the streets on Oct. 24, 2026 in Marseille, France (left); New York Post reporter Gabrielle Fahmy (right). (Sener Yilmaz Aslan/Getty Images; Fox & Friends)

"Tensions had been mounting. These new people I saw sort of joined the protest towards the end. We saw some people arrive by metro. They were dressed differently, hiding their faces. They had masks, and that's sort of when I could see things start to shift."

Fahmy told co-host Brian Kilmeade the protests were peaceful for several hours, describing the transition from police leading the crowd to violence erupting in the streets as "very surreal."

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Tens of thousands of secondary school students and their supporters march from Republic to Nation square on Oct. 6, 2026, in Paris, France. Nationwide student protests and violent school riots have disrupted over 700 secondary schools and led to roughly 5,000 arrests across France. What began in late September 2026 as peaceful blockades in the low-income Paris suburb of Seine-Saint-Denis has rapidly escalated into a major public order crisis for President Emmanuel Macron's government. (Guy Smallman/Getty Images)

She said the newcomers appeared to be younger demonstrators, many in their late teens and early 20s, and suggested some might have been "factions of the far-left."

The protests began as student-led demonstrations over teacher shortages and poor conditions at schools but have since evolved into a broader anti-government movement, with protesters voicing frustration over the cost of living and other grievances.

"The people there on Saturday, it was a general sort of cost of living that they were complaining about," Fahmy recalled.

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"There's not enough jobs, they're not making enough money, they can't afford to put food on the table. But also anti-government, they are fed up with Emmanuel Macron, who's on his way out anyway. But, it was just a very general, general reason."

Fahmy also recalled seeing Palestinian flags, noting that "everybody with a grievance" seemed to have joined the demonstrations.

Separate protests have also turned violent in Rome and Albania's capital, Tirana, where demonstrators set government buildings on fire.

Fox News' James Cirrone and Brittany Miller contributed to this report.

Taylor Penley is an associate editor for Fox News Digital and contributor to FOX Business and Fox Nation who covers media, culture and Flash