🔴 French protests live: Police fire teargas at demonstrators in cities including Toulouse, Lyon

Live: Police fire tear gas at demonstrators in cities including Toulouse, Lyon, Nantes French police fired tear gas at protesters in Lyon, Lille, Toulouse and Nantes on Saturday, just hours after Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez warned that violence would not be tolerated. Some 70,000 officers were deployed to marches by Yellow Vests, trade unions and students across France, with the government announcing earlier that weapons were seized and 135 had been arrested. Follow our liveblog for the latest updates. Clashes in Nantes, as protesters enter the restricted zone; water cannon deployed, tear gas fired Clashes have broken out on Saturday in Nantes between law enforcement and protesters who managed to reach the city centre – an area where the local prefecture had prohibited demonstration, according to observations by an AFP journalist. The procession of several thousands set off in the early afternoon on the Île de Nantes, outside the restricted zone. Upon attempting to cross the Loire River – which separates the island from the city centre – protesters encountered police and security forces. Blocking access to the bridge, the authorities deployed a water cannon and tear gas, while some protesters threw small projectiles in their direction. The group then turned back, crossing the Loire via a different bridge to enter the area where the prefecture had officially banned all gatherings. Amidst the rain and occasional fireworks set off by participants, the front of the march was pushed back by security forces using stun grenades, tear gas, and a physical charge. Shortly before 4pm, the procession reached the centre of Nantes, met with further rounds of tear gas. 'French police using tear gas' – AFP French police have fired tear gas at protesters in several cities on Saturday amid fresh demonstrations, according to AFP journalists. Riot squads fired tear gas at protesters in Lyon, Lille, Toulouse and Nantes, hours after Interior Minister Laurent Nunez warned: "We will not tolerate any violence or any disturbance of public order. Jordan Bardella re-elected president of far-right National Rally amid protests Jordan Bardella was re-elected on Saturday as president of the National Rally (Rassemblement National)–France’s primary opposition party – during a congress in Orléans, a city to the southwest of Paris, at an event that coincided with a demonstration against the far right, organised by figures from France's political left. Running unopposed, he secured 98.98% of the vote. "To lead Marine to the Élysée, I will need you," Jordan Bardella told several thousand party members. Bardella is a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) and has led the National Rally, founded in 1972, since 2022. He is set to deliver a speech on Sunday at the Zénith d'Orléans, which will be followed by an address from Marine Le Pen, a candidate in the 2027 French presidential election. 📸 'We are fed up!' – protestor in Paris Protesters hold a sign reading "We are fed up" during a demonstration against rising living costs in Paris, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus) Jean-Luc Mélenchon, leader of French far-left opposition party France Unbowed (La France Insoumise - LFI) and candidate for the 2027 French presidential election, and LFI member of parliament, Manuel Bompard, attend an authorised demonstration organised by labour unions in Paris as part of nationwide protests called by the "Yellow Vests" movement joined by French high school and university students against the cost of living and rising fuel prices, in France, October 24, 2026. (Reuters/Abdul Saboor) Protesters attend an authorised demonstration organised by labour unions in Paris as part of nationwide protests called by the "Yellow Vests" movement joined by French high school and university students against the cost of living and rising fuel prices, in France, October 24, 2026. (Reuters/Abdul Saboor) Far-right National Rally opens congress in Orléans Far-right party, The National Rally (Rassemblement National) opened its congress in Orléans, a city located to the south of Paris. Jordan Bardella is set to be re-elected as the party’s leader, ahead of Marine Le Pen’s first major campaign rally on Sunday. The event began shortly before 3 p.m. at the Zénith arena in the Loiret prefecture, where several thousand party officials and activists cheered for their candidate, chanting "Marine for President." A demonstrator holds a sign reading, “Feminist, not fascist,” during a protest on the sidelines of the far-right Rassemblement National (RN) congress in Orléans, France, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Teresa Suarez) 'You can't police yourself into social cohesion' “You can't police yourself into social cohesion. You can't police yourself into a political future,” Andrew Smith, historian of modern France at Queen Mary University of London, told FRANCE 24, identifying a central paradox confronting the French Republic: the state may possess the means to impose public order, yet lack the political capacity to address the grievances driving mass mobilisation. Watch the interview below. 250,000 rally over the cost of living in Madrid Alongside the ongoing unrest in Paris, according to AFP, authorities in Spain reported 250,000 had taken to the centre of the Spanish capital, Madrid, demanding protection for the state pension scheme and to protest the cost of living ahead of Spain's parliamentary election next month. Message from Unbowed leader Mélenchon to Macron: 'It is time to give in' Left-wing presidential candidate and leader of France Unbowed, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, has urged French President Emmanuel Macron to "give in" to the demands voiced during Saturday’s latest day of mobilisation, warning: "after this, the only thing left for him will be the exit door," a report by AFP detailed. "He will come to realise that this is going to happen every single week," he said while marching alongside demonstrators at the Porte d'Italie in Paris. Addressing the last-minute change to the authorised protest route, Mélenchon called on the executive branch to "stop the provocations" while praising the "massive response" from the demonstrators, which he described as "magnificent in its collective discipline and self-control". French police have arrested 135 people around protests, seized various weapons, interior minister says French police had arrested 135 people nationwide and seized a variety of weapons, Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said, adding that, so far, "there has been no major incident". Paris police described the situation as "calm" at midday. Weapons confiscated have so far included metal balls, lead pellets, fireworks, slingshots, steel balls, improvised weapons, a katana (a type of Japanese sword) and airsoft weapons, Nunez added. 🎥 Thousands march in Orléans against National Rally congress Thousands of anti-fascist protesters took to the streets of Orléans to demonstrate against a congress held by Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally party. Marchers criticised both Le Pen and President Emmanuel Macron, chanting slogans and carrying banners opposing the far right. The protest came amid renewed nationwide demonstrations over the cost of living, a week after rallies descended into street violence. The two-day congress also marked a major campaign event for Le Pen ahead of France’s presidential election in six months’ time. Antonia Kerrigan reports the latest from Orleans ⬇️ 🎥 Young demonstrators demand concrete action from Macron Student protests in France began more than a month ago, over poor conditions in high schools, teacher shortages, the pace of the school day and inequalities between private and public education. The movement has since grown into a broader mobilisation, bringing together the "Yellow Vests", trade unions and wider civil society. Joseph Downing, Senior lecturer in politics and international relations and Aston University, shares further details with FRANCE 24 ⬇️ 🎥 Students and trade unions demonstrate against National Rally in Orléans The city of Orléans is the focal point of this latest Saturday of protests as it hosts the far-right National Rally’s convention, against which the prefecture reported 11,000 protesters by noon. Joining the march were left-wing party leaders, trade unions, students, activists and NGOs such as Amnesty International. Watch more from FRANCE 24's reporters on the ground ⬇️ Student union says 'surrounded' before protest by riot police in Paris While traveling by metro to the starting point of the demonstration in Paris protesters from the UNEF, one of the main student unions, reported on X that they had been “surrounded by dozens of CRS [riot police] officers” and “prevented from reaching the metro". “As UNEF activists, gathered as a national collective, left the Bourse du Travail to join the demonstration via the metro, we were surrounded by dozens of CRS officers preventing us from reaching the metro as we were leaving our meeting,” the UNEF wrote on X. “Right now, dozens of UNEF activists are being issued citations and searched, for no other reason than walking down the street,” the union added. France's 'Yellow Vest' movement calls new protests for Oct 31 France's "Yellow Vest" movement, which has helped organise protests rocking the country, called Saturday for new demonstrations on October 31. Organisers called for fresh rallies and a sit-in outside parliament and city halls nationwide, condemning the "authoritarian drift" of President Emmanuel Macron and urging citizens to stand up for "public freedoms". Members of the largely rural based Yellow Vest movement were angered and refused to comply when Paris police ordered a late change to the authorised route for a union-organised march Saturday, shifting it to the edge of the capital. Next Saturday, "we will protest for the freedom to protest, and for all our freedoms," a Yellow Vest coordinator told journalists at Paris's Bastille square, the original departure point for the march. 🎥 French students vow to keep protesting Amid growing concerns over violence, people across France, young and old alike, are weighing up whether taking part in demonstrations is worth the risk. FRANCE 24’s Ophelie Jackson reports ⬇️ 🎥 Last-minute change to the Paris protest route Police have imposed a new route Friday between Porte d’Italie and Porte de Vincennes, replacing the planned protest march from Bastille to Nation. FRANCE 24’s Elitsa Gadeva reports from Place de la République ⬇️ 🎥 11,000 protesters against the National Rally in Orléans, prefecture says Against this backdrop of heightened tensions, France’s far-right National Rally is holding its annual congress in Orléans, south of Paris, where it is expected to officially launch Marine Le Pen’s presidential campaign and re-elect Jordan Bardella as party leader. FRANCE 24's Antonia Kerrigan reports the latest ⬇️ France becomes Trump's 'bête noire' for midterms Trump has often used French President Emmanuel Macron as a foil in his campaign stump speeches, claiming he strong-armed Macron into raising prescription drug prices in France by threatening tariffs on a popular French export, champagne, and other goods. But in the last week or so Trump has seized on another narrative about France, casting its violent unrest of recent weeks as a warning of what he says could happen in the US if Democrats win in the midterms. Trump has blamed the unrest on migrants and Muslims, following a familiar playbook that has featured in his politics for more than a decade. “What the hell happened to France?” Trump told a crowd in a livestock competition arena in Clemson, South Carolina, on Wednesday. Notably, the French protests have taken a larger role in Trump’s recent speeches than two other major foreign policy headaches he has been unable to resolve: Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and his war against Iran. Thousands march in Orléans against National Rally congress Thousands of people yelling anti-fascist slogans marched in the French city of Orléans Saturday against a congress by far-right leader Marine Le Pen's National Rally (RN) party there, AFP journalists saw. The protest — held on a day of fresh nationwide demonstrations over the cost of living after ones a week ago that devolved into street violence — criticised both Le Pen and centrist President Emmanuel Macron. "Macron resign. Le Pen in prison," the crowd yelled, while carrying placards that read "The Youth say 'screw you' to the National Rally" and "Hotter than fascists". The two-day RN congress in Orleans was the first big party campaign rally by Le Pen, whom surveys put as the leading candidate to succeed Macron in presidential elections in six months' time. March organisers in Paris agree to route mandated by prefecture Yesterday's key developments: - French President Emmanuel Macron held a defence council of top ministers and officials and met with student union representatives who called for more protests. - Authorities tightened restrictions and banned specific protests in some major cities such as Lyon and Marseille. - Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said 70,000 security forces will deploy nationwide for protests Saturday, warning that calls for violence and looting were already circulating on social media. (FRANCE 24 with AFP, Reuters and AP) Keywords for this article