Crime & Public Safety
Paris protest: police use tear gas in clashes
Clashes broke out between police and some demonstrators in Paris on Saturday as a protest march reached its final destination, AFP journalists saw.
Dozens of masked people dressed in black used hammers to pull up paving stones and throw them at police. At least one incendiary device was also thrown at security forces.
Police responded with tear gas and several baton charges. The Paris police prefecture said a “hard core of several hundred rioters” at the rear of the march was attacking police with projectiles, including a Molotov cocktail.
The prefecture said officers were manoeuvering to restore public order. Authorities said the dispersal of the demonstration was otherwise proceeding without difficulty.
A water cannon truck was positioned near the point where the march was scheduled to disperse. The police prefecture said 70,000 people took part in the march.
Update
The Paris police prefecture said a hard core of several hundred rioters at the rear of the march attacked police with projectiles, including a Molotov cocktail.
Police said officers were manoeuvering to restore public order.
Authorities said the demonstration's dispersal was otherwise proceeding without difficulty.
The police prefecture said the march drew 70,000 people.
A water cannon truck was positioned near the dispersal point.
Source note: AFP news report published on 31 October 2026 at 16:47:42 UTC.
Update
Some protesters used hammers to prise up paving stones and throw them at police.
At least one incendiary device was hurled toward security forces.
Police responded with tear gas.
The clashes occurred as the protest march reached its final destination.
Source note: AFP news report published on 31 October 2026 at 16:32:01 UTC.
Uncertainty notes
No injuries or arrests were reported in the supplied material.
Source
AFP news report published on .