Cost-of-Living Protests Sweep France as Demonstrations Spread Across Europe

Hundreds of thousands of people marched in cities across France on Saturday to protest rising living costs, expensive fuel and strained public services, the largest of a wave of demonstrations that also reached Belgium, Portugal, Italy and Albania.

Turnout estimates varied widely. Euronews reported that the French interior ministry counted about 550,000 participants nationwide and the CGT union about 800,000. Reuters, as republished by the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, reported the same two figures, citing Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez for the official count.

In Paris, separate marches by trade unions, students and veterans of the yellow vest movement merged at the Place de la République, according to Euronews. Secondary and university students have protested for about four weeks over conditions in schools, including crowded classrooms and outdated buildings, and union representatives said they joined partly to support them. Demands ranged from higher spending on schools, hospitals and public services to better wages and relief from fuel prices.

Many rallies began peacefully and turned violent later in the day. Police used tear gas and water cannon in Paris and other cities. Shops were looted in the capital and other cities, cars were burned, a tourism office was set on fire in Lyon, protesters forced their way into town halls including Marseille’s, and flames reached the roof of the historic town hall in Limoges. Counts of arrests differed: Euronews put the figure at about 400, while Reuters quoted Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu as saying about 1,200 people had been arrested and more than 150 officers hurt.

President Emmanuel Macron wrote on social media that there was no place for violence in the republic and promised prosecutions for those who attacked public buildings and businesses. Lecornu blamed organized far-left groups for much of the destruction. Marine Le Pen, the far-right presidential hopeful, also blamed the far left, saying it had poisoned the protests.

Lecornu also said limited public money cannot endlessly go toward repairing damage caused by vandals, Euronews reported. The government faces a real constraint in meeting demands for both lower prices and more spending from limited public funds. Protesters counter that ordinary households are already paying for the crisis at the pump and in their rents.

Fuel costs across Europe have climbed since the war involving the United States, Israel and Iran disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, which normally carries roughly a fifth of the world’s oil, Euronews reported. France also faces a presidential election in about six months, Euronews noted, adding to the political strain.

Elsewhere on Saturday, Belgian police used water cannon and tear gas on student and youth demonstrators in Brussels. Thousands marched in Lisbon at the call of the CGTP union, demanding higher wages and pensions and relief from soaring rents. In Milan, police used tear gas to clear the central cathedral square, Reuters reported, and anti-government protests in Tirana, Albania, entered a fifth straight day.