France deploys thousands of police amid a new wave of protests
Paris braced for a fresh march by students and workers over school funding and soaring living costs Saturday, one week after violent unrest left shops looted and cars burned. The new march was restricted to the city's southeastern edge, away from the centre, as police deployed in force across France.
Major museums, including the Louvre and Grand Palais, closed Saturday over protest-related concerns
The Associated Press
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Paris braced for a fresh march by students and workers over school funding and soaring living costs Saturday, one week after unrest left shops looted and cars burned. The new march was restricted to the city's southeastern edge as police deployed in force across France.
Scenes of looting, burned-out cars and attacks on public buildings left the impression that the government had lost control, as groups of masked vandals targeted businesses in Paris and other city centres.
Police imposed the new route Friday between Porte d'Italie and Porte de Vincennes, replacing the planned march from Bastille to Nation.
The movement began last month over staff shortages at one high school southeast of Paris. It now reaches well beyond the classroom. Students want more teachers, better school buildings and more university places. Unions are demanding higher wages and pensions to help people meet the cost of living.
WATCH | Police used tear gas, water cannons during first round of protests:
‘It’s utter chaos': Protests in France evolve into anger over broader economy
October 17|
Duration
2:21
Police in France used tear gas and arrested hundreds as widespread demonstrations over underfunding in schools evolved into scenes of anger and unrest over the cost of living.Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said as many as 70,000 officers will be deployed nationwide, along with helicopters, armored vehicles and water cannons. In central Paris, a few dozen gendarmes, or military police officers, were stationed beneath the Arc de Triomphe and along the nearby avenues.
A massive turnout is expected again after more than half a million took to the streets last week.
Museums are closed and shopkeepers are worried
Major museums, including the Louvre, Musée d'Orsay, Picasso Museum and Grand Palais — where a major Cézanne exhibit is on display — are closed Saturday. Art Basel, one of the world's most prestigious contemporary art fairs, opened to the public Friday, but only for the day, with the threat of unrest prompting organizers to cancel the weekend program.
Parisian shopkeepers have been barricading their stores all week. Near the Saint-Lazare train station, Akram Ahmed, a 34-year-old contractor, was boarding up an optician's shop.
"I got the call last night," he said. "The owner seemed desperate. He said I was saving his life."
WATCH | Here's why student in France started protesting this month:
Why thousands of high school students in France are protesting
October 6|
Duration
1:43
Police fired tear gas and water cannons at protesters blockading French high schools — as students, teachers, parents and unions took to the streets against what they say is underfunding of the education system. Rights groups and students have accused authorities of using disproportionate force against minors. The government has responded to the demonstrations with riot police and says the movement has been hijacked by outsiders and morphed into urban violence.Following the unrest, Paris police prefect Patrice Faure urged Parisian shopkeepers to hire security guards. He later clarified that protecting business owners and their establishments is the responsibility of the government.
Some 3,000 shops across France were damaged or looted last weekend.
Some protests have been banned
Protest marches are scheduled in Paris and Marseille, but some other rallies, including in Lyon, Nice and Montpellier, have been banned by local authorities. In Lyon, French media reported that police used tear gas Saturday morning.
Cities outside Paris were hit hard by the unrest. Two suspects in the fire that nearly destroyed Limoges's 19th-century city hall were placed under formal investigation and held pending trial, French media reported. The probe includes attempted murder of a public official.
WATCH | Tourist office in Lyon, France, set on fire during first round of protests:
Tourist office in Lyon, France, set on fire
October 17|
Duration
0:27
The tourist office in Lyon, France, was set ablaze on Saturday. Protests over rising costs and declining public services have swept the country, with thousands taking to the streets.Trade unions have criticized the bans, calling them violations of freedom of expression, which is protected by the constitution.
French President Emmanuel Macron, a centrist, has entered the crisis in the final stretches of his term, with his popularity at its lowest since he took office in 2017. He has said that the measures are needed to protect city centres, businesses and public buildings.
French police move people away to prevent gatherings at the Place de la Bastille in Paris as part of nationwide protests that are taking place again on Saturday. (Dylan Martinez/Reuters)
Thousands of people gathered Saturday morning for an anti-far-right protest in the city of Orléans, about 110 kilometres south of Paris. It was organized on the sidelines of a two-day congress of Marine Le Pen's nationalist, anti-immigration party ahead of next spring's presidential election.
Students and workers are angry
Student groups want 250,000 more places in higher education and an end to selection through Parcoursup, the national admissions system. Their joint 10-point plan also calls for more teachers and repairs to schools and universities.
They are also seeking help with everyday costs: an extra 200 euros (around $313 Cdn) a month in student grants and a rent freeze in public student housing.
High school students have raised concerns about underfunded schools and staff shortages, particularly in lower-income neighbourhoods. Some also called for a reform of the university admissions system, seen by many as unfair.
With the government seemingly unable to respond to students' demands, the movement has morphed into larger protests over soaring living costs, just months before the vote to choose Macron's successor.
"The money is now concentrated in the hands of very few people," said Victoria Ambrosini, an art critic and art teacher at Saint-Denis University. "And it's not possible anymore."
WATCH | France deployed riot police as students marched:
Students in France clash with riot police amid weekslong education protests
October 13|
Duration
3:26
Teachers formed a line to shield students from police in Paris, as countrywide protests over education reform have reached their fourth week.KioskNews shows a cleaned-up reading view extracted from the publisher’s page — the original always lives on their site, not ours.