France Sees Lower Turnout as Protests Over Living Costs Trigger Clashes

Protesters clashed with police in France on Saturday as demonstrations over living costs, wages, and public services entered a fourth consecutive weekend, drawing students, trade unions, and members of the revived Yellow Vest movement onto the streets.

The country's Interior Ministry counted 146,000 demonstrators nationwide, including 46,000 in Paris, while a youth union alliance put national attendance at 250,000 and 75,000 in the capital. These figures represented a decline from previous weeks and followed a mass union protest on Thursday that drew 575,000 people according to authorities and 1.6 million according to unions.

At the end of the main march at Place de la Nation in Paris, police used tear gas against individuals throwing projectiles and homemade fireworks at security forces. Police reported that a group of 200 violent individuals attacked officers during the arrest of a man who had set fire to a trash bin. Clashes and property damage also occurred in other cities including Lyon, Montpellier, and Marseille.

Authorities deployed approximately 70,000 security personnel nationwide. Police blocked a separate, banned Yellow Vest gathering at Place de la Concorde, surrounding about 100 people and arresting movement leaders Benjamin Ball and Azelma Sigaux. The demonstrations coincided with political tensions following the rejection of the revenue section of the 2027 budget by French lawmakers, with Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu scheduled to meet labor and employer representatives on Monday to discuss wages and purchasing power ahead of presidential elections in five months.