PARIS — A yellow vest representative told Euronews on Saturday that the movement had joined France’s student protests because “we have more experience,” and could “keep things calm if there are issues with police or such.” The afternoon did not stay calm. Protesters set fire to a tourist office in Lyon, forced their way into town halls in Marseille and Grenoble, and left dozens of people detained in Paris.
Eyewitnesses told Euronews that a union-led march and a student march had merged into one crowd at Place de la République, where protests began around 2 pm local time. That widened the French student protests from education funding and classroom conditions to the general cost of living.
The government has to answer both at once. Euronews pointed to strained public finances, and the protesters it quoted accuse the government of mismanaging public funds.
Euronews reported that masked protesters rammed the door of Marseille’s town hall with security barriers. One sprayed an anarchist “A” on a wall before police intervened, and a demonstrator shouted “We’re taking the Bastille.” Grenoble’s town hall was also briefly entered, with local officials reporting some damage.
In Lyon, hooded youths threw projectiles and firework mortars at police in a central square while the tourist office burned. Police answered with tear gas, dispersal grenades and a water cannon, according to Euronews.
Euronews ties the cost-of-living pressure to French fuel prices that rose after the US-Israeli war on Iran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
The state’s own conduct is part of the argument. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said stun grenades would be allowed on Saturday if “serious urban violence” broke out, adding that they are “never used when things are going well.” A 14-year-old reportedly lost a hand after picking up a stun grenade and a 15-year-old allegedly lost an eye to a rubber bullet. Both cases are under investigation.
Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said on Thursday that 937 police officers and gendarmes had been injured since the protests began, and warned that the school movement was becoming a “wave of urban violence.” That is a government figure, and Euronews did not say how it was counted. Marine Le Pen, a presidential hopeful, blamed the far left for the violence, Euronews reported.
Euronews’s reports gave no national turnout or arrest figure. The only official number they carry is an Interior Ministry source’s forecast of about 500 actions and 90 protests, and they do not say who counted the “dozens” held in Paris.
