Paris Opens Attempted-Murder Probe After Petrol Bombs Thrown at Police at End of Saturday March

Paris prosecutors opened an attempted-murder investigation on Sunday, November 1, into the petrol-bomb attack on security forces at the end of Saturday's nationwide march at Porte de Charenton in the French capital. According to AFP, incendiary devices were thrown at about 15 gendarmes and police officers; video showed a device exploding at a gendarme's feet and setting his protective equipment alight. (Photo: stock image of a Paris street protest, not the scene of this attack.)

Prosecutors said no suspect has been arrested over the attack and investigators were still establishing the number and severity of injuries; reported injuries included second-degree burns and tinnitus, though those details remained provisional. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez called the attack attempted murder and described the level of violence as 'extraordinary'.

The wider Saturday figures

The Interior Ministry said 779 people were arrested nationwide during the demonstrations and Halloween night, up from a provisional figure of 565 on Saturday evening; Paris prosecutors recorded 105 arrests in the capital — 88 linked to the demonstrations and 17 to Halloween — with 89 people remaining in custody, including at least 22 minors. On turnout, the ministry put the nationwide figure at 320,000, while unions estimated nearly 500,000; the two sides' estimates differ.

The youth-led protest wave began in September over living costs and the state of schools; Reuters reported that as schools returned from break on Monday, blockades resumed on a smaller scale, with the Education Ministry saying about 41 high schools — about 1% nationwide — were blockaded by 0830 GMT.

Source: AFP and Reuters, via TBS, Khabarwire and others (2026-11-02).