Overview
- France’s Interior Ministry reported about 200,000 participants nationwide, 540 arrests and roughly 400 people in custody, including 211 arrests in Paris.
- Authorities said 23 security personnel were lightly injured and recorded hundreds of street fires alongside wider public‑order disturbances.
- Unions and organizers disputed the turnout and arrest figures, with the CGT citing roughly 250,000 participants and some outlets reporting about 350 arrests.
- Police prepared with a large deployment of roughly 80,000 officers and gendarmes, including mobile BRAV units, as actions ranged from roadblocks to disruptions at schools and transport depots.
- The Paris prosecutor opened an investigation into a building fire that may have been an unintended outbreak linked to security operations, and unions signaled follow‑up strikes on September 18.