Massive protests were sweeping Europe on Saturday as part of demonstrations driven by the cost of living and deficient public services, with police bracing for potential violence after recent looting and riots. Germany, France, Spain and Italy are among the nations where demonstrations were being held on Halloween following a recent wave of Gen Z-led marches across the continent. French officials said they would deploy 70,000 police on Saturday following some of the worst rioting in decades, which erupted in cities across the country after student protests about the state of education evolved into wider demonstrations about the cost of living and social security.
As the demonstrations began Saturday afternoon in Paris, protesters were pictured holding a banner that read: “We do not need tear gas for our future to be blurry.” Videos vetted by NBC News show large crowds and fires burning in Marseille. Some 320,000 people demonstrated across France on Saturday, including 70,000 in Paris, according to the French Interior Ministry. Authorities reported more than 560 arrests nationwide by Saturday night.
While the protests have been largely peaceful, police arrested 1,300 people last week after an estimated 410,000 took to the streets in cities across the country. Stores, public buildings and businesses have also been damaged since the protests erupted last month. Measures introduced last week to protect shops would be reinforced, he said, and demonstrations would not be permitted “in city centers, where there is a risk of public disorder.” The U.S.
Embassy in France advised travelers to avoid areas where demonstrations or large gatherings are planned. The protests in France began after Prime Minister Emmanuel Macron launched budget talks for 2027. Students in the country, angry over a declining education system and the high cost of living, then took to the streets.
They were later joined by unions and the Yellow Vests, a grassroots movement that emerged in 2018 as a revolt against fuel taxes. Those demonstrations appear to have inspired similar protests across the continent, with protests erupting in Belgium, Spain, Italy and elsewhere. In Germany there were demonstrations organized by the campaign group Gen Z regelt (Gen Z takes charge) in more than 30 cities Saturday, including the capital Berlin and the financial hub Frankfurt.
The groups demand spending on schools, climate protection and housing, and are against plans to return to mandatory military service. Protesters gathered in front of Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate, as police said an additional 1,500 officers would be deployed throughout the city. While most people rallied peacefully, some protests turned violent on Saturday night.
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