ENDED · The Guardian · 39 updates
Hundreds of protests expected across France as authorities try to prevent further civil unrest – Europe live
Hundreds of thousands march in France as protests take place across Europe – Europe live
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Saturday summary
French police arrested 1,000 people during protests about the cost of living and education, with that number expected to rise, according to the country’s interior minister Laurent Nunez The government estimated that at least 400,000 people had marched across France. Trade unions estimated the numbe…
vaildaily.com
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Paris protesters report heavy handed response from police
A peaceful protest during the day in Paris descended into violent clashes with police by the time night fell. The sound of pop music blaring and chanted slogans was swapped for the sound of teargas being released and fireworks being released, according to reports. Eyewitnesses say the mood soured a…
bbc.com
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Italian police said nine people were arrested, and 371 briefly detained during protests in eight cities. In a statement, the police said 110 of those either arrested or detained were minors.
My colleague Angelique Chrisafis has been reporting from the protest in Paris today, which has since dispersed. She writes about how a largely peaceful demonstration on the outskirts of the French capital was marred at the end by violence. The mood in Paris on Saturday afternoon was peaceful and li…
theguardian.com
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A man reportedly had his fingers blown off during trouble in France, a minister has said. France’s interior minister – equivalent to the home secretary in the UK – Laurent Nunez said two people had been “seriously injured” during what he called “an extremely elevated level of violence” at today’s p…
starcitytv.com
Protesters try to force entry into Colosseum in Rome
Demonstrations were held in the Italian cities of Rome, Turin and elsewhere, with some turning violent. As we reported earlier, security was heightened in Rome, where authorities locked down luxury shopping streets and stepped up controls around the Circus Maximus and Piazza del Popolo. A small num…
French interior minister: 1,000 arrested during protests, with number expected to rise
French police arrested almost 1,000 people on Saturday during the protests held across the country, interior minister Laurent Nunez said. He told reporters that the number “will rise” as more data from police becomes available. Although marches over the cost of living “passed off well” in cities, o…
foxnews.com
Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the radical-left presidential candidate who marched in the Paris rally today, said in a social media post that the French police “ruined the day” by “shooting indiscriminately” at Paris protesters. “In Paris, as a way to ruin the day and blow off some steam, the so-called ‘force…
In addition to the earlier footage of police using tear gas against protesters in Lyon, we are now seeing tear gas being deployed in the cities of Paris, Marseille, Nantes, and Bordeaux. Though the protests have been relatively contained so far, the use of tear gas has become an increasingly common…
the-independent.com
Total of 410,000 protesters marched across France
The Interior Ministry has put today’s nationwide turnout at 410,000 total protesters across France. Clashes began to erupt late on Saturday, following a pattern of otherwise peaceful protests growing more tempestuous as the day draws to a close. The Paris march began calmly, but near its endpoint a…
conchovalleyhomepage.com
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Police say 110,000 people marched in Paris
Police in Paris say that about 110,000 people have marched across France’s capital today, but that the “situation remains calm” according to reporting from AFP. Authorities have now begun dispersing the crowds. The 110,000 figure is roughly the same amount as the number of protesters in Paris last…
2news.com
Meanwhile in Albania, more than 2000 police have been deployed around Tirana on the 12th day of student-led protests amid reports of concerted efforts to stop demonstrators entering the capital. Protests initially spurred by fury over a planned Trump family-backed resort in Albania have turned incr…
The NFL (American football league) closed its “NFL House” in Paris as the city braced for street protests with a heavy police presence and storefronts boarded up. The league announced the closure to fans on Saturday morning through its “OnePass” app, according to the AP, citing “potential accessibi…
nbcnews.com
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25,000 people rally in Madrid for pension guarantees
Spanish authorities say about 25,000 demonstrators have marched through the country’s capital demanding protections to the state pension scheme. Spain is voting in a snap parliamentary election in a few weeks and this has been a key topic of concern. Spain’s Socalist prime minister Pedro Sanchez, w…
afp.com
Are French high school buildings dilapidated and rat-infested with collapsing ceilings?
Some are, namely in certain cities and low-income suburbs. Videos filmed by students and teachers have shown leaks, scurrying rats, holes in walls and ceilings, broken toilets and not enough chairs or tables, meaning teachers have to carry them from classroom to classroom. Some children said they h…
Heavy police presence at demonstrations
Tens of thousands of people have turned out to the heavily policed demonstrations across France and they have been, on the whole, quite contained so far. Some sections of the crowd could be seen singing and dancing in Paris as they walked along the route, which was pushed to the city’s fringes at t…
At the Paris march, Nadège, a communications worker, said she was at Place de la République last Saturday when teargas hit. But that hadn’t deterred her. I’m out again peacefully today to support everyone who is brave enough to demonstrate. It does take courage. People are afraid now. We have to ke…
The French president had hosted student representatives for a highly anticipated meeting yesterday afternoon. Going in, the student leaders had already expressed cynicism over whether the French president would adequately address their concerns. Pupils in Paris began protests over the quality of th…
The radical-left presidential candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon, leader of the La France Insoumise party, is also marching in the Parisian procession. Speaking to the press earlier he said the protests would continue every week until Emmanuel Macron and his government addressed the public’s demands. He…
Demonstrations kick off across France's major cities amid heavy security
People have also begun marching in the port city of Marseille, France’s second-most populous city. Thousands had gathered for the procession down the Canabière main street. In Lyon, crowds have set off from Place Jean-Macé, chanting slogans and singing, flanked by rows of police officers. Crowds ar…
ksl.com
My colleague Angelique Chrisafis has been at Place d’Italie in the French capital. Many cardboard signs held by demonstrators in Paris referenced the dozens of ongoing inquiries into mutilations and injuries by police weapons in the four weeks since high school protests began. One 21-year-old stude…
Paris protesters set off on march
The thousands gathered in the French capital have begun walking along the designated 1.5km route from Porte d’Italie to Porte de Vincennes. The metro trains headed to the 13th arrondisement starting point were packed. The march has been organised by a coalition of unions, the CGT, CFDT, FSU, and So…
france24.com
Marches over pensions in Madrid
Thousands of retired people and others also marched in the Spanish capital, Madrid, on Saturday, to demand that state pensions should be protected. Pensions have become a key battleground ahead of next month’s snap election, with the Spanish prime minister, Pedro Sanchez, arguing that the conservat…
afp.com
French police make 135 arrests, interior minister says
France’s interior minister, Laurent Nuñez, has said that police have made 135 arrests in relation to the nationwide protests, and seized a variety of weapons. Weapons confiscated included metal balls, lead pellets, fireworks, slingshots, steel balls, improvised weapons, a katana and airsoft weapons…
dpa-international.com
Fresh protests also under way in Albania
An anti-government rally is taking place in the Albanian capital, Tirana, after days of violent unrest in the city. Protesters have been calling for the prime minister, Edi Rama, to resign since last week, and demanding action against corruption and poor living standards. More than 300 people have…
afp.com
French police fire teargas at protesters in Lyon
AFP is reporting that police in Lyon, south-east France, fired teargas to disperse about 150 protesters near the city centre – where demonstrations had been banned – when they briefly tried to block a road. A 21-year-old student, speaking anonymously, told AFP: “The police are really mobile ... The…
france24.com
Protest march under way in Orléans
Demonstrators are on the move in Orléans, where Marine Le Pen’s National Rally party is holding its congress. Thousands of people are marching, Agence France-Presse reports, shouting anti-fascist slogans and calling for Le Pen to be imprisoned, and for the French president, Emmanuel Macron, to resi…
france24.com
The Guardian’s Paris correspondent, Angelique Chrisafis, has been speaking with more demonstrators in the French capital. Pierre, 60, a retired banking consultant, said he was demonstrating to support young people’s demands for improvements in education. I think young people need to take part in bu…
Italy bracing for several protests nationwide
Further student and youth demonstrations across the political spectrum are expected in Italian cities today after major anti-government protests kicked off last weekend. Like in France, several of those demonstrations at times spiralled into looting and clashes with police. Prime Minister Georgia M…
the-independent.com
'Here to support the schoolchildren's demands'
Jesse, 40, a charity worker from the north of Paris, had turned out for the street march. She said: “I’m so angry. I’m here to support schoolchildren’s demands for better conditions. I’m so proud of them and we have to stand together.” She said: “I know I’m not going to war by coming out to demonst…
