France Heads Into Third Weekend of Protests as Youth-Led Rallies Sweep Europe

For the third weekend in a row, people across France are marching in the streets to protest the high cost of living and poor school conditions. The French government sent 70,000 police officers and gendarmes — a type of military police — to keep order. Youth-led protests have also been spreading to other countries across Europe, making this a continent-wide movement. Officials are worried about violence, especially since Halloween night falls during the weekend.

French authorities made some big changes to where people could march in Paris. Police banned marches through the city center, instead ordering protesters to walk along a route on the outer edges of the city — from Porte de Bagnolet to Porte de Charenton. Unions and student groups fought back against these rules in court. President Emmanuel Macron said he wanted marches kept away from shopping areas to protect stores from damage.

Police also set strict curfews in some Paris neighborhoods. Two well-known areas — Place de la Republique and Les Halles — were closed to visitors from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday nights. Both spots were hit by rioting and looting on October 17. Teenagers not with an adult face an even earlier curfew of 9 p.m. near the famous Champs-Elysees avenue. A Paris court had earlier blocked a similar curfew, calling it an illegal restriction on the freedom to move around.

The protests in France started with high school students who were angry about the conditions in their schools. Over time, the movement grew larger as more people joined in to voice anger over how expensive everyday life has become. French authorities counted about 550,000 marchers on October 17, a day when rioters also looted hundreds of shops. Last Saturday, around 410,000 people marched, and while things were mostly peaceful, police still made more than 1,300 arrests.

The protest wave did not stop at France's borders — it rolled into other countries too. In Germany, a youth group called "Gen Z regelt," which roughly means "Gen Z's got this," called for rallies in about 30 cities. Their goals included better education, healthcare, climate protection, and more affordable living. Organizers said more than 140,000 people signed up online to participate, and Berlin police expected around 10,000 people to gather at the famous Brandenburg Gate.

Other European countries were also on high alert heading into the weekend. In Barcelona, Spain, police prepared for their highest level of alert after an anonymous TikTok network called Blocus urged new gatherings. Rioting there the previous Saturday led to about 130 arrests, most of them teenagers. Police in Italy were on alert after clashes in Milan, Turin, and Bologna, and calls to protest were spreading on TikTok in Belgium, the Netherlands, Austria, Switzerland, and Portugal.