Tear gas deployed by police during riots in Paris on Saturday dispersed into the Métro system, causing discomfort among commuters at Réaumur-Sébastopol station on Line 4. Passengers experienced irritated eyes and throats, with some covering their faces using clothing, while others sought fresh air on the platform and nearby streets, only to encounter dense clouds of tear gas and ongoing unrest. The area was marked by broken glass and burning barricades fashioned from bins and rental bicycles as groups of youths moved through the streets, smashing shop windows.
Nearby, on Boulevard de Sébastopol, further confrontations took place between crowds and police forces. Similar scenes unfolded elsewhere across Paris’s Right Bank and other French cities, including Marseille, Lyon, Limoges, Lille, and Bordeaux. In total, approximately 1,500 shops were looted, and public buildings were attacked and set on fire. Protesters came as close as several hundred meters from the presidential palace.
Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez had mobilized 10,000 officers nationwide in response, but security forces were quickly overwhelmed. The violence was driven by a mix of ultra-left activists intent on provoking disorder and young people from economically disadvantaged suburbs taking advantage of the chaos to loot unguarded stores. Central areas of Paris, such as Les Halles, slipped briefly out of police control as looters seized parts of the streets.
Political and media reactions expressed concern over the scale and intensity of the unrest, with some commentators comparing it unfavorably to the 2018 “gilets jaunes” (yellow vests) protests triggered by increases in fuel taxes. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu praised law enforcement efforts, stating that police officers had faced "violence of an extreme intensity" in protecting citizens and deserved full support.
However, public opinion remained divided. Among the protesters was Gaby, a 20-year-old performing arts student involved in weeks of demonstrations addressing issues such as deteriorating school infrastructure, teacher shortages, and perceived unfairness in university admissions. She criticized government responses for prioritizing police action over dialogue with demonstrators. For Gaby and others, Saturday’s unrest was not solely a revival of the earlier fuel tax protests but a broader outcry encompassing education, public services, wages, and the rising cost of living.
Speaking alongside Marie, a 19-year-old physics and chemistry student, Gaby emphasized that the protest was a collective expression of frustration and resilience. Both were gathered near a recently extinguished barricade in the Château d’Eau area of Paris. Gaby referenced the historic roots of student activism at Nanterre University, where the upheavals of May 1968 began, contrasting the current darker mood while affirming that the persistence of protest reflected ongoing optimism and a refusal to be silenced despite repression.
The events highlighted France’s continuing social divides and the challenges faced by authorities in balancing order with addressing citizens’ grievances amid a complex protest movement merging diverse demands.