Masked rioters hurl Molotov cocktails at Paris police, leaving one officer with 'severe burns', as 320,000 march across France
Riot police advance on protesters in Paris on 24 October 2026, as France braces for a third consecutive weekend of unrest that has left 2,500 businesses damaged and hundreds of millions of euros in losses.A device thrown at Paris police explodes, setting an officer's leg alight near Porte de Charenton, as at least 300 arrests were made across France by Saturday afternoon.
France's third consecutive Saturday of mass protests turned violent after nightfall, with rioters hurling Molotov cocktails at officers near Porte de Charenton and a French gendarme suffering severe burns to his leg. The Gendarmerie nationale shared footage of the incident on X, condemning what it called "unacceptable violence" against its officers.
In Lyon, militants burned American and Israeli flags on a tram shelter roof, while in Bordeaux a crowd cheered as a Macron piñata was attacked with a sword.
Unrest spread beyond France's borders, with German youth group GenZ regelt staging protests in Berlin, Frankfurt, Cologne and Munich; Cologne police cancelled the march after protesters wore masks and threw smoke bombs.
Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez had 70,000 police and gendarmes on the streets nationwide — yet by 2pm, 27 arrests had already been made, against 217 at the same point last weekend.
