People protesting the rising cost of living are joining forces with students taking the streets in France.

Chaos erupted in the streets of several major cities in France as police and protesters clashed. Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to take to the streets today across France. The main marches are set to start in the afternoon, and are to see protesters against rising living costs joining high school students who have been lamenting the conditions of the education system and their classrooms for more than three weeks. Saturday’s mobilisation follows calls on social media to revive the yellow vest movement, which emerged in 2018.

But before the marches started, violence erupted in Paris, Marseille and Lyon. There, French police were reported to have used tear gas to break up unsanctioned gatherings or roadblocks created by protesters.

Demonstrators reportedly set up barricades, often ablaze, to block traffic. In Marseille, Prado Boulevard was blocked this morning by protesters using bins and scooters.

Police dispersed the protesters using tear gas, France24 reports, driving them from the area. Tear gas was reportedly used by police also in Paris’s Place de la République against demonstrators gathered an hour and a half before an authorised march was due to start.

Also in Paris, a crowd of around 100 protesters blockaded the offices of CNews network, according to police. The force detained 21 people following the incident.

Paris police said they had arrested 40 people following stop-and-search carried out across the city as of 9.30am local time (8.30am BST). The arrests, they added, were largely made due to people allegedly carrying “prohibited protective gear or weapons”, the prefecture said in a statement.

By noon local time (11am BST), French police had reportedly detained 166 people, according to local media.

This comes after President Emmanuel Macron had appealed on Friday for calm and respect for people and property as officials warned of possible violence.

Mr Macron said: “There is a constitutional right to protest and to express oneself, and I have always been vigilant and attentive that that right is fully respected. But this right comes with the need to respect. Respect for people, respect for property, and therefore a commitment not to insult or destroy.”

He also denounced as “unacceptable” the potential presence of people “solely to cause damage and create unrest.”

Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said hundreds of protest actions and more than 80 marches were expected nationwide, including spontaneous gatherings, street demonstrations and blockades.

In Paris, a march is set to begin in the early afternoon at Republic Plaza, northeast of the city centre. Police banned some other proposed gatherings in central Paris.

https://www.aol.co.uk/articles/france-riots-chaos-erupts-across-105900000.html

Updated Sat, October 17, 2026