Nearly 1,000 Arrested Across France as Protests Resume, With Violence Spreading to Rome and Tirana and Trump Pointing to Paris as a Warning
France's interior minister gave the Saturday arrest count. Police searched marchers for fireworks and ball bearings. Water cannons were used in Nice, Rome and Tirana.
Nearly 1,000 people were arrested across France on Saturday as nationwide protests resumed, Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez told reporters, Fox News reports. This follows our earlier story on the 70,000-officer deployment.
France. Reuters reported that police searched protesters in advance and arrested people suspected of carrying fireworks and ball bearings. In Paris, police estimated 110,000 marchers, made more than 3,000 checks and arrested 65 people, the BBC reported. The interior ministry put turnout nationwide at about 410,000, while union organizers said 800,000. Central Paris looked locked down: shops boarded up, museums closed and more than 20 metro stations suspended. Police fired tear gas in Clermont-Ferrand, Grenoble, Lille and Nice, and used a water cannon in Nice. Clashes with hooded youths were reported in Marseille and Lyon. Last weekend more than 2,700 people were arrested in protests that turned to riots and looting.
Beyond France. Italian police used a water cannon on protesters in Rome, and violence was reported in Turin and Bologna, while Milan stayed largely peaceful, according to Reuters. In Albania's capital, Tirana, riot police fired water cannons as some demonstrators set government buildings on fire. Students there want lower tuition and an end to corruption in education, and some protesters want Prime Minister Edi Rama to resign. Rama said his government is preparing a response and warned violent protesters would face penalties.
The origin. Fox says the protests began weeks ago, led by high school and university students over teacher shortages and poor school conditions. Unions then joined over austerity, wages, pensions and living costs.
Trump. After casting his early ballot in West Palm Beach, the president told reporters, "Just take a look at France because that's what they'd like to have for our country, and I don't let that happen."
Note for readers: attendance figures come from competing sources. Fox's report links the unrest to broader grievances and to Trump's warning, and the president's comparison to the U.S. is his own claim. We read Fox's report, not the Reuters or BBC pieces it cites.