PARIS — More than 100,000 people marched in Paris on Saturday over school funding and soaring living costs, challenging President Emmanuel Macron’s government in a largely peaceful demonstration before clashes broke out near the march’s end point. Paris police estimated turnout at 110,000, with demonstrators mobilizing despite restrictions that confined the march to the city’s southeastern edge, away from the center. Students, union members, environmentalists and other groups marched through cold, rainy weather.
Near the march’s end point at Porte de Vincennes, some demonstrators threw bottles and rocks at police, who then charged at the crowd, fired tear gas and used water cannons. The clashes lasted about an hour. NBC News witnessed no looting.
Police used tear gas in several cities, including Lyon, Clermont-Ferrand and Strasbourg, and water cannons in Nice and Nantes, French media reported. In Marseille, officers fired tear gas during clashes with several dozen people near the march’s end point. The Paris prosecutor’s office said 64 people had been arrested in connection with Saturday’s demonstration and 40 placed in police custody.
Those arrested included six minors. Most arrests concerned suspected weapons offenses or participation in a group preparing violence or property damage, the office said. The unrest is testing Macron’s authority in the final months of his presidency before voters choose his successor in May.
The stakes are high: The far-right National Rally has accused his government of failing to protect the public and urged people to channel their anger into votes for them. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez had announced a nationwide deployment of up to 70,000 officers, backed by helicopters, armored vehicles and water cannons. An journalist saw tens of thousands of people marching from Porte d’Italie early in the afternoon.
Trade unions led the procession, followed by protesters in raincoats carrying flags and handmade placards. At Porte de Vincennes, some demonstrators tried to continue toward Place de la Nation, but police blocked their path, French media reported. Camille Chesnier, 27, said she had been unable to find work despite having an engineering degree and a master’s degree.
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