Hundreds of thousands march across France over schools, living costs and policing

Summary

Hundreds of thousands of people marched in cities across France on Saturday in largely peaceful protests backing schoolchildren's demands for more teachers and repairs to dilapidated buildings, and voicing anger over the cost of living and heavy policing. Authorities deployed about 70,000 security personnel nationwide. France 24 reported that a coalition of the Yellow Vests movement, trade unions and students had called the marches, and that police were deployed to head off looting and vandalism similar to the previous Saturday's unrest. The Guardian reported that almost 1,000 people were arrested as police charged a crowd in Paris and used teargas to stop protesters reaching other city centres, and that prosecutors in Nice said 59 people had been taken into custody, 11 of them suspected of belonging to extreme-right groups. Channel NewsAsia and The Japan Times reported that the marches were called to protest the cost of living and that clashes broke out in Paris and other French cities amid the fresh protests.

Timeline

1. France 24

   24 Oct 2026, 17:11 UTCSource ↗

   France 24 reported that a coalition of the Yellow Vests movement, trade unions and students would march across France on Saturday over studying conditions and purchasing power, and that some 70,000 police were expected to be deployed amid fears of looting and vandalism similar to last Saturday's unrest.

2. Channel NewsAsia

   24 Oct 2026, 18:11 UTCSource ↗

   Channel NewsAsia reported that authorities had deployed 70,000 security personnel across the country for new marches called to protest the cost of living.

3. The Japan Times

   24 Oct 2026, 22:58 UTCSource ↗

   The Japan Times reported that clashes broke out in Paris and other French cities amid fresh protests, after authorities had deployed 70,000 security forces across the country for marches called to protest the cost of living.

4. The Guardian

   25 Oct 2026, 12:07 UTCSource ↗

   The Guardian reported that hundreds of thousands marched in cities across France on Saturday in largely peaceful protests backing schoolchildren's demands, and that almost 1,000 people were arrested as police charged a crowd in Paris and used teargas to stop protesters reaching other city centres.