Over 1,300 Arrested as Violence Erupts in French Protests Over Cost of Living
French police detained 1,314 demonstrators during Saturday protests, while 53 officers were injured and several protesters suffered serious wounds.
Police in France arrested 1,314 people during Saturday's demonstrations against rising living costs, the interior ministry said on Sunday. The ministry added that 53 officers were injured in clashes that spread across major cities.
Authorities reported 75 fires were set and 24 shops looted during the unrest, which followed a similar wave of protests the previous weekend. After the confrontations subsided, the ministry described the remainder of Saturday night as "calm."
Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said two protesters sustained serious injuries, one in Toulouse and another in Clermont-Ferrand. In Toulouse, a 20-year-old man suffered a severe hand wound, with a street medic indicating that several fingers were lost. The Clermont-Ferrand incident involved a hand injury but no loss of fingers.
A regional daily, La Nouvelle République, reported a 19-year-old man in Poitiers was injured in his left eye after police deployed stun grenades and tear-gas canisters. The newspaper's photographer said the injury occurred during a police charge, though officials have not confirmed whether the wounds resulted from the weapons.
The interior ministry announced that several investigations have been opened into the incidents, but did not provide further details on the number of injured protesters.