1,314 detained in France during nationwide protests on October 24

Interior Ministry data on detentions and injuries

French authorities detained 1,314 people during nationwide demonstrations on Saturday, October 24, and another 53 law enforcement officers were injured, the French Ministry of the Interior reported on Sunday. According to the BFMTV channel, these figures are markedly lower than on the first day of mobilization, October 17, when 2,628 people were detained and 1,144 law enforcement officers were injured. According to the ministry, 410,000 people took part in Saturday's actions across France, including 110,000 in Paris. The trade unions, however, put the total number of participants at almost 800,000, with 250,000 in the capital.

Fewer riots and fires

The ministry reported that 24 retail outlets were looted during the demonstrations, compared with 1,522 a week earlier — a drop of more than 98%. Fire responses numbered 75, compared with 2,025 on October 17. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez described the overall outcome of Saturday's demonstrations as positive, noting that security measures helped prevent large-scale looting and damage to public buildings.

Marseille, Paris and those injured in the regions

In Marseille, 71 people were detained during Saturday's demonstration, including 40 adults; 61 people were placed under police supervision, and seven retail outlets were looted or damaged. Marseille Mayor Benoît Payan described the demonstration as 'peaceful', despite minor incidents at the end of the march, and noted that the situation was considerably calmer than during the October 17 protests, when several stores in the city were looted. In Paris, according to the police prefecture, 142 people were detained, of whom 126 were taken into custody; two retail outlets were damaged, one of which was also looted, while police kept protesters out of the other. In addition, one person suffered a serious hand injury at a demonstration in Clermont-Ferrand — authorities clarified that no fingers were lost — and another person seriously injured a hand at a demonstration in Toulouse.

Why this matters

Comparing the data from the two weeks shows a sharp decline in both the number of detentions and the scale of the damage: looting fell by more than 98%, and fire responses dropped from 2,025 to 75. This affects residents of the cities where the actions took place and the owners of the damaged retail outlets, while the discrepancy between the Interior Ministry's and the unions' estimates of the number of participants leaves uncertainty about how large the movement actually was. In practical terms, this means that, in the minister's assessment, the security measures applied worked, but the publication does not explain the causes of the protests or their further dynamics.