Clashes Erupt Again in France, After Festive Start to Day of Protest

Clashes Erupt Again in France, After Festive Start to Day of Protest - The New York Times

Skip to contentSkip to site index

Europe

Log in

Saturday, October 31, 2026

Today’s Paper

* Home
* + U.S.
+ International
+ Canada
+ Español
+ 中文

Unrest in France

* Country on Edge
* France’s Political Center
* Government Makes Concessions
* How the Movement Began

Advertisement

SKIP ADVERTISEMENT

You have a preview view of this article while we are checking your access. When we have confirmed access, the full article content will load.

Supported by

SKIP ADVERTISEMENT

Clashes Erupt Again in France, After Festive Start to Day of Protest

More than 300,000 people took to the streets, some wearing Halloween costumes, before the demonstrations ended in violence.

Listen · 7:04 min

*
*
*

!A person in a green dress and a mask holds a sign reading "Donnez-leur de la brioche." Smoke fills the street, and other people are in the background.

*A protester in Lyon, France, on Saturday dressed as Marie Antoinette and held a sign translating to “Let them eat cake.”Credit...Jeff Pachoud/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images*

By Mark LandlerCatherine Porter and Ségolène Le Stradic

Reporting from Paris

Oct. 31, 2026, 5:50 p.m. ET

See more of our coverage in your search results.Encuentra más de nuestra cobertura en los resultados de búsqueda. Add The New York Times as a preferred source on GoogleAgrega The New York Times como fuente preferida en Google›

Hundreds of thousands of people poured into the streets of French cities again on Saturday for protests that began with the festivity of a Halloween parade but gave way to darker scenes of clashes between demonstrators and the police.

The violence fell well short of the arson and looting that engulfed Paris and other cities on Oct. 17, when a mass demonstration muted into widespread lawlessness. The crowds, estimated by the government at 320,000, were also smaller than on the previous two Saturdays of nationwide protest.

Still, the turnout — and the chaos — was significant enough to suggest that France remains in the grip of acute unrest, nearly two months into a protest movement that began with rebellious high school students.

In several cities, the police fired tear gas and sprayed water cannons to disperse some protesters after what had been peaceful rallies. In Paris, 200 to 300 rioters, masked and clad in black, skirmished with police officers into the evening, lobbing Molotov cocktails, fireworks and other projectiles.

It was a discordant end to a day that had begun on an upbeat, even joyful, note. Many people made the most of the fact that the demonstration coincided with Halloween. They showed up in eye-catching costumes, as Spider-Man, Zorro or the Pink Panther, dancing as often as they marched. One, dressed as Marie Antoinette, held a sign that said, “Let them eat cake.”

French officials had said they worried that the holiday would introduce a dangerous element, since demonstrators might conceal their faces. They marshaled 70,000 police officers, the same number as last week, and shifted routes to keep the protesters away from city centers.

---

Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.

---

Thank you for your patience while we verify access.

Already a subscriber? Log in.

Want all of The Times? Subscribe.

Related Content

*
*
*
*
*
*

*
*
*

*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*

Advertisement

SKIP ADVERTISEMENT

Site Index

Site Information Navigation

* © 2026 The New York Times Company
+ NYTCo
+ Contact Us
+ Accessibility
+ Work with us
+ Advertise
+ T Brand Studio
+ Privacy Policy
+ Cookie Policy
+ Terms of Service
+ Terms of Sale
+ Site Map
+ Canada
+ International
+ Help
+ Subscriptions
+