French security forces arrested 1,314 people across the country over the weekend during a second consecutive wave of mass demonstrations over the high cost of living, with 53 law enforcement officers injured in the ensuing violent clashes, the Interior Ministry announced on Sunday, October 25, 2026.
​The arrests followed clashes that broke out on the margins of large-scale public marches across major French urban centers, including Paris, Toulouse, and Clermont-Ferrand.
Nationwide attendance reached roughly 410,000 demonstrators on Saturday, with 110,000 marching through the capital alone. In Paris, officers detained 142 individuals, placing 126 into police custody as local authorities struggled to maintain order along major thoroughfares.
​Throughout Saturday’s unrest, emergency services responded to 75 fires while authorities reported that 24 commercial storefronts were looted by rogue groups. The Interior Ministry confirmed in an official statement on Sunday morning that several criminal investigations have been formally opened into the destruction.
Officials noted that calm returned to urban centers overnight once the primary skirmishes subsided, though the ministry did not specify how many total civilians were injured in the operations.
​Speaking late Saturday as initial operational numbers were compiled, French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez addressed the casualty toll, confirming two serious injuries among demonstrators in Toulouse and Clermont-Ferrand.
He noted that law enforcement officers faced coordinated disruptions by violent groups operating on the periphery of peaceful rallies.
​The nationwide rallies mark an escalating domestic crisis for France as the country moves closer to its upcoming presidential elections in April and May to choose a successor to President Emmanuel Macron, who is reaching his two-term limit.
Heavy security deployments remain active across major French cities in anticipation of further public mobilization in the coming weeks.
