Laurent Nuñez Orders 70,000 Officers to Streets for Second Protest Weekend

Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez directed a force of up to 70,000 officers to French streets on Saturday to manage a second consecutive weekend of nationwide demonstrations. The security posture included helicopters, armored vehicles, and water cannons. Authorities stated the goal was to prevent a recurrence of the disorder seen in the prior week.

Nuñez reported that police detained 135 individuals during the day. Officers seized a variety of items from demonstrators, including metal balls, lead pellets, fireworks, slingshots, steel balls, improvised weapons, a katana, and airsoft guns. The minister characterized the day as free of major incidents, despite the large turnout expected to follow the previous week's participation of more than half a million people.

In Lyon, authorities had banned marches, but approximately 150 protesters near the city center attempted to block a road. Police dispersed the group with tear gas. A 21-year-old student speaking to Agence France-Presse described the police presence as highly mobile, noting that officers disrupted marches before they could fully form.

Thousands marched in Orléans against a congress hosted by Marine Le Pen’s National Rally party. Le Pen is using the event to launch her presidential bid for the election in six months. Surveys indicate she is currently the favorite to win. Chanters targeted both Macron and Le Pen, shouting slogans such as "Macron resign. Le Pen in prison." Police counted 11,000 participants, while organizers claimed 26,000 attended. Roughly 50 groups, including unions and student organizations, had called for the protest.

In Paris, the only authorized march moved from the Bastille to the Porte d'Italie at the last minute. Union representative Murielle Guilbert called the move "scandalous," arguing that Macron barred protesters from their preferred location while wages remained stagnant. A student named Lucas told CBS Saturday Morning that anger among the public was "normal."

The protests have altered daily life in the capital. Major museums closed, and many businesses boarded up their windows. Art Basel shortened its event to a single day on Friday. A soccer match between Paris Saint-Germain and Olympique Lyonnais shifted from Sunday to Monday night. Last weekend, approximately 3,000 shops across France suffered damage or looting.

The unrest traces back to high school student demonstrations in southeast Paris last month. The Yellow Vests, active for about eight years, announced plans for rallies and a sit-in outside parliament and city halls on Oct. 31. They condemned the government's "authoritarian drift." Similar protests occurred in Milan, Madrid, and Lisbon, with Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni announcing stricter penalties for minors involved in recent clashes.