PARIS (AP) — Hundreds of thousands of mostly young protesters took to the streets across France on Saturday for the third straight weekend of demonstrations over the cost of living and education.
Some 70,000 police and gendarmes were deployed across the country, and the march in Paris was rerouted to the edge of the capital. Youth-led demonstrations were also reported in Germany and Italy.
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The French government estimated that 320,000 people protested across the country on Saturday, fewer than in previous protests but still high in participation. Massive protests on October 17 escalated into France’s worst unrest in years, attracting more than 500,000 people across France, and demonstrations on October 24 attracted 410,000 people, according to government estimates. Organizers’ estimates of turnout were much higher.
French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez warned there was a “very high risk” of riots, especially after dark on Halloween. Riots and looting marred largely peaceful protest marches the previous two Saturdays, and police arrested thousands of people.
At Porte Bagnolet on the eastern edge of Paris, thousands of people gathered behind a procession of students who held hands and led the march. Security agents from the General Syndicate, one of France’s largest trade unions, patrolled the front lines of the rally, while police gathered in side streets.
The Interior Ministry told reporters that an estimated 70,000 people took part in Saturday’s main protest in Paris, out of 320,000 people who took part in the main protest in Paris, which police moved outside the city center after a last-minute court battle to reduce the risk of unrest around government buildings and tourist attractions.
A protester releases colored smoke during a demonstration organized by trade unions in Paris on October 31, 2026, as part of nationwide protests launched by the “yellow vest” movement joined by French high school and university students to protest against rising living costs and fuel prices. Photo by Abdul Saboor/Reuters
The grievances of the marchers were varied.
Each group carried its own flag: high school students, climate activists and people angry about the cost of living.
Some Halloween costumes that stand out from the crowd include zombie Michael Jackson from Thriller, pirates and Spider-Man. Protesters waited calmly, chanting slogans and singing through loudspeakers.
Corentin Cabreux, a 21-year-old student who lives in a state-run student dormitory, said, “There are damp stains on the bottom of the walls, whole sections are peeling off, and there are cockroaches and rats everywhere.”
He said he hoped Saturday’s protest would serve as a celebration of Halloween to counter the violent image of protests in France.
Police impose curfew and other measures
The rallies began last month as a movement of high school students protesting neglected buildings, teacher shortages and a college admissions system seen as unfair to disadvantaged students. Unions and others angry at President Macron have also made various demands.
While the vast majority of protesters have been peaceful, groups of troublemakers often attack police with fireworks and bombs. Some protests have devolved into rioting and looting – including one on October 17, which appeared to have caught the government off guard. Police responded with tear gas, dispersion grenades, water cannon and other means, resulting in serious injuries.
WATCH: Why French students are leading massive protests across the country
Macron said Saturday’s march would be kept away from the city center to protect shops. Police also banned people from entering Place de la République and Les Halles between 11pm and 6am on Saturday and Sunday.
Unaccompanied minors around the Champs Elysees will face a separate 9pm curfew. A Paris court on Wednesday suspended an earlier curfew for minors, calling it a serious and unlawful violation of freedom of movement.
Protests also took place in Germany, Italy and Spain
In Germany, a youth initiative called “Generation Z regelt” – roughly “Generation Z got this” – rallied in a number of cities to “fight for education, health, climate protection and affordable living” and oppose any re-conscription. Organizers said more than 180,000 people had signed up online, but as of Saturday afternoon, only a few thousand people had participated in the march in cities across the country.
Young protesters also gathered at Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate on Saturday afternoon to demand more investment in education and housing.
“We’re calling for more investment in social services and education and climate protection — in short, in our future — because we’re going to be the ones affected by this the longest and are going to have to live with it,” said high school student Laura Breitenbach.
Another high school student from Berlin, Janel Schulz, also said authorities must invest more in education.
“In my school, the ceiling collapsed due to flooding but we did nothing, we lacked teachers and the toilets were broken,” she said.
On October 31, 2026, in Marseille, France, a heart-shaped balloon with the word “revolution” floated into the sky during a demonstration organized by trade unions as part of the nationwide protests called by the “yellow vest” movement. French high school and university students have also joined in the fight against rising living costs and fuel prices. Photo by Manon Cruz/Reuters
Some shops on Kurfürstendamm had boarded up their windows on Friday, but authorities said they were unaware of specific threats of violence. Another 1,500 police officers were deployed to the German capital to quell possible unrest.
In The Hague, Netherlands, a strong police presence was deployed in and around the city center shopping district on Saturday afternoon amid online calls for protests and fears of rioting and looting. By mid-afternoon, however, there were few signs of protest and no major disturbances. According to local media reports, police searched some young men in black and checked their identities.
Many shops in the city were also boarded up as a precaution.
In Barcelona, Spain, regional police planned to activate the highest level of alert after an anonymous TikTok network called Blocus urged new rallies. The riots on October 24 resulted in the arrest of approximately 130 people, most of them minors.
Italian police were on alert after clashes in Milan, Turin and Bologna, while calls for protests also circulated on TikTok in Belgium, the Netherlands, Austria, Switzerland and Portugal.
Kirsten Grieshaber reported from Berlin. Angela Charlton and Thomas Adamson in Paris; Kerstin Sopke and Geir Moulson in Berlin; and Mike Corder in The Hague, Netherlands, contributed to this report.
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