Overview
- Nationwide demonstrations took place on Saturday 24 October with large turnouts and a prefecture count of about 110,000 in Paris while authorities reported roughly 35,000 elsewhere and about 135 arrests across the country.
- The government mobilized around 70,000 police, gendarmes, elite units and soldiers with armoured vehicles, helicopters and drones to secure cities and protected key sites such as the Élysée and the National Assembly.
- Police used tear gas, water cannon and raids to disperse banned gatherings and small unauthorized groups, with the fiercest clashes reported in Lyon and Nice and localized confrontations in several regional cities.
- Authorities closed major cultural institutions as a precaution, seized weapons and pyrotechnics including a katana and metal balls, and enforced night curfews and bans on specific demonstrations to limit damage and looting.
- A separate shooting in Trappes left one dead and five wounded, the suspected attacker was detained and the case is handled by the National Anti‑Terrorism Prosecutor’s Office, while protest leaders and unions have announced further mobilisations, including calls for 31 October and a CGT strike on 5 November.