N環球 
Paris October 24 march ends: 410,000 protested nationwide, nearly 1,000 arrested; curfew enters final night
France's Interior Ministry estimated 410,000 people protested nationwide on October 24, including 110,000 in Paris, with nearly 1,000 arrests; the Louvre and other venues closed on Saturday, and the central Paris curfew runs its final night tonight until the morning of October 26.
Why it matters
This is France's second nationwide mass protest wave in a month. Compared with the October 17 wave, which damaged around 3,000 businesses and saw more than 2,000 people detained, the October 24 march was similar in size but less destructive; clashes still broke out at the end of the Paris march, the central curfew and transport restrictions only end tonight, and organisers have already announced another round for October 31.
Full report
France's Interior Ministry estimated about 410,000 people protested nationwide on October 24, including about 110,000 in Paris; unions put the national turnout much higher, at nearly 800,000. Authorities deployed around 70,000 police officers and gendarmes nationwide. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said nearly 1,000 people were arrested across the country, with the tally expected to rise.
The Paris march set off at 2 p.m. from Porte d'Italie and headed toward Porte de Vincennes along the Boulevards des Maréchaux. That was the police-set route upheld after the Paris Administrative Court rejected the unions' appeal on Saturday morning; the originally planned Bastille–Nation route was banned. The march was largely peaceful, but clashes broke out near the end of the route at Cours de Vincennes, where masked demonstrators threw fireworks and projectiles at police, who responded with tear gas and water cannon. In Marseille, Reuters reported that young demonstrators set rubbish bins ablaze, pelted security forces with stones and bottles, and looted several shops.
The Louvre, Musée d'Orsay, Musée de l'Orangerie, Picasso Museum and Grand Palais closed on Saturday, the Paris Opera closed both the Palais Garnier and Opéra Bastille, and Art Basel Paris cancelled its weekend programme. Twenty-four Metro stations closed from 9 a.m., and parts of lines 2, 6 and 12 were suspended.
The movement began with students protesting school funding and study conditions and grew into broader demands over the cost of living, inequality and strained public services. For comparison, the October 17 wave drew an official estimate of 550,000 (organisers said 800,000), with around 3,000 businesses damaged or looted and more than 2,000 people detained.
Tonight still needs care: the curfew around Place de la République and Les Halles runs its final night, 11 p.m. to 6 a.m., until the morning of Monday, October 26; République, Châtelet, Les Halles and Châtelet–Les Halles stations close from 10 p.m. Yellow Vest organisers have announced a third act for October 31, plus a pot-banging protest next Friday.
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