Hundreds of "vandals and looters" were arrested as violence once again swept across France on Saturday, which the government has attributed to the "ultra-left movement".
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Hundreds of “vandals and looters” were arrested as violence once again swept across France on Saturday, which the government has attributed to the “ultra-left movement”, forcing some cities to enact curfews during Halloween.
The so-called “Act III” protests on Saturday, supported by trade unions and far-left parties including Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s France Insoumise (France in Rebellion/LFI), drew around 320,000 people nationwide and 70,000 in Paris, according to authorities. Union officials claimed that around half a million people took to the streets, Le Figaro reported.
Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said that”as expected, in each procession groups of thugs and looters led by the radical ultra-left movement attacked the security forces.”
PARIS, FRANCE – OCTOBER 31: Demonstrators take part in the ‘Act III’ protests called by the Yellow Vests and the CGT union, in Paris, France on October 31, 2026. (Photo by Rachelle Papillon-Amblard/Anadolu via Getty Images)
“We have seen extremely violent groups of several hundred individuals attack the security forces in Marseille, Nantes, Angers, Tours, Rennes, etc,” he said, adding that the rioters were witnessed using fireworks, cobblestones, and even Molotov cocktails against police.
As of 9 pm local time, the Interior Ministry said 565 people had been arrested. This figure is likely to rise further throughout the night. Ahead of the demonstrations, Paris Police warned of an “insurrectional situation” in which hardened “ultra-left” radicals form common cause with opportunistic youths from multicultural suburbs to cause mayhem.
In a dramatic instance of violence caught on camera in Paris, a police officer was seen engulfed in flames after being hit with a Molotov cocktail. Fortunately, the officer appears to have escaped largely unscathed, with reports mentioning only an ankle injury. At least three officers were injured as a result of Molotov cocktails on Saturday.
PARIS, FRANCE – OCTOBER 31: Demonstrators clash with police as tensions escalate during protests in Paris, France, on October 31, 2026. Fires, flares and thick clouds of smoke fill the streets as protesters gather and security forces are deployed in the area. (Photo by Fadel Dawod/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Nevertheless, the shocking images were condemned by many, including National Rally presidential candidate Marine Le Pen, who said: “The images of a police officer engulfed in flames after being targeted by incendiary devices are unbearable. The perpetrators of this attack must be found and sentenced with the utmost severity. Tonight, we are thinking of all the security and rescue forces that will be mobilised late into the night to protect our fellow citizens from the hordes of the far left.”
Her deputy, Jordan Bardella, added: “Anyone who sends an “incendiary homemade bomb” to law enforcement must be very severely punished. These devices are made to kill, and their perpetrators must rot in prison for very long years. Such acts have no place in the French Republic.”
Meanwhile, looting broke out once again in Marseille, where five people were arrested after looting a Foot Locker store.
Two other shops, including a wine store and a delicatessen, also suffered damage during the looting.
The Socialist Party Mayor of Marseille, Benoît Payan, condemned the “individuals” who would “take advantage of the demonstrations to sow trouble.”
PARIS, FRANCE – OCTOBER 31: Demonstrators carrying banners, flags and various costumes, clash with police as tensions escalate during protests by the Gilets jaunes (Yellow Vests) movement in Paris, France on October 31, 2026. (Photo by Ibrahim Ezzat/Anadolu via Getty Images)
“Hundreds of thousands of people, including several tens of thousands in Marseille, have once again taken to the streets against the high cost of living and for dignified conditions for young people. I say it again: these demands must find political responses,” he wrote on X.
“This evening, individuals are taking advantage of these demonstrations to sow trouble in several Marseille neighbourhoods… Our municipal police are fully mobilised to protect all residents and their property. Neither our city nor the legitimate claims peacefully expressed by the demonstrators must become the victims of those who seek only chaos and violence.”
In addition to the heavy police presence, with around 70,000 officers and gendarmes being deployed across the country on Saturday, some cities decided to impose curfews given the possibility of late-night unrest on Halloween.
This included areas around the Place de la République and Châtelet-Les Halles in central Paris, which saw a curfew called from 11 pm to 6 am on Sunday. Additionally, police used vehicles to block protesters or potential rioters from entering the area surrounding the Bastille, a frequent rallying point for unrest since the days of the French Revolution.
In Nice, conservative Mayor Éric Ciotti said that a curfew for unaccompanied minors would be put in place from 10 pm to 6 am, to “prevent overflows during Halloween.”
Curfew measures were also reportedly put in place in areas in Grenoble, Lille, Douai, Denain, Wattignies, Valenciennes, and Marly.
The chaos seen in France over the past month has become a flashpoint in the upcoming mid-term elections in the United States, with President Donald Trump warning that the French model is what the Democrats have in store for America.
Vice President JD Vance remarked earlier this month: “Western liberals imported the third world into France and other countries in the name of diversity and compassion. They ignored fundamental questions of assimilation and compatibility. They were told it would lead to this and they didn’t listen.”
