France braced Saturday for a third consecutive weekend of demonstrations regarding education and living expenses, deploying 70,000 police officers and gendarmes while forcing the main Paris march to the capital’s periphery. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez cautioned that authorities anticipated a very high risk of public disorder, particularly after dark on Halloween.
Paris police prohibited traditional union and yellow vest marches from entering the city center, mandating instead that demonstrations follow a single approved route along the outer boulevards stretching from Porte de Bagnolet to Porte de Charenton. Labor unions and student organizations contested these routing restrictions in court, but ultimately lost a last-minute legal battle. President Emmanuel Macron stated earlier in the week that marches would remain outside central districts to safeguard local commerce. In addition, police enforced nighttime closures barring entry to the Place de la Republique and the Les Halles area—both sites of significant rioting and looting on October 17—from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. over the weekend.
Authorities also attempted to impose a 9 p.m. curfew around the Champs-Elysees for unaccompanied minors, though a Paris court suspended that specific order on Wednesday, ruling it a serious and unlawful infringement on freedom of movement.
The widespread mobilization began with high school students voicing frustration over school conditions before expanding into broader anger surrounding the cost of living. Government tallies recorded approximately 550,000 demonstrators nationwide on October 17, during which rioters looted hundreds of retail shops. A subsequent mobilization last Saturday drew 410,000 participants; while those rallies remained largely peaceful, police executed more than 1,300 arrests.
Meanwhile, the youth-led movement has crossed international borders, prompting heightened security measures across several European countries. In Germany, a youth initiative operating under the banner “Gen Z regelt,” translated roughly as “Gen Z’s got this,” called for demonstrations across approximately 30 cities. Organizers advocated for education, healthcare, climate protection, and affordable living while opposing any potential reinstatement of military conscription, claiming more than 140,000 individuals had registered online. Berlin police anticipated roughly 10,000 participants gathering at the Brandenburg Gate, prompting some shopkeepers along the Kurfuerstendamm boulevard to board up windows despite authorities reporting no specific intelligence regarding violence.
In Spain, Catalan police prepared to activate their highest security alert following calls from an anonymous TikTok network named Blocus for fresh demonstrations. Rioting in Barcelona the previous Saturday resulted in roughly 130 arrests, predominantly involving minors. Security forces likewise maintained high alerts in Italy following recent clashes in Milan, Turin, and Bologna, while digital mobilization calls circulated via TikTok across Belgium, the Netherlands, Austria, Switzerland, and Portugal.
