Paris police fire tear gas as more than 300,000 protesters march across France

French police fired tear gas on Saturday as more than 300,000 people took to the streets across France in a third consecutive weekend of widespread anti-government demonstrations.

​According to The Independent, around 70,000 police officers and gendarmes were deployed nationwide as authorities pushed marches away from central commercial districts. French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez warned of a “very high risk” of coordinated violence, cautioning that Halloween would not serve as an excuse to wear masks or provoke unrest.

​What began last month as secondary school walkouts over staff shortages, deteriorating buildings, and university admissions has broadened into a wide-ranging movement against President Emmanuel Macron’s administration. High school students led processions at the fringes of Paris alongside trade union stewards while riot police lined adjacent streets.

​”I live in a state-run student residence where there are damp stains all along the bottom of my walls… cockroaches everywhere, rats,” said 21-year-old student Corentin Cabreux, expressing hope that the turnout would remain peaceful.

​Similar youth-led demonstrations over economic pressures, educational funding, and living costs were reported across Germany, Albania, Italy, and Spain.