PARIS (AP) — French authorities expressed relief Sunday after mass protests over rising living costs resulted in less violence than previous weekends. But police expect new demonstrations as high schools at the heart of the movement reopen Monday after their autumn break.
Germany faced its own challenges after nationwide protests Saturday ended with rioters attacking police and looting stores in some cities. Around Europe, hundreds of thousands joined overwhelmingly peaceful marches Saturday inspired by young people, despite scattered unrest.
Get The Latest News!
Don't miss our top stories and need-to-know news everyday in your inbox.
In Paris, rioters targeted police with Molotov cocktails at the end of Saturday’s march on the city’s eastern edge, injuring three officers and setting a car ablaze, police said. Across town, masked groups hurled fireworks at officers at a viewpoint across from the Eiffel Tower, and police charged repeatedly, sending panicked visitors fleeing the area.
Overall, however, the violence was less severe than on Oct. 17, when a city hall was torched and more than 2,000 stores were looted in hours of violence that authorities seemed unprepared to control, or during follow-up protests Oct. 24.
Police arrested 779 people Saturday, compared with 2,628 on Oct. 17 and 1,314 last weekend. Paris and Marseille police said a handful of shops were targeted but no major damage was reported. About 70,000 police were deployed around the country.
Protesters described various struggles to The Associated Press: with rodents in classrooms, low-wage jobs, putting fuel in their cars.
Police are preparing for more tensions as schools reopen Monday, with some groups calling for blockades. Thursday, France is facing a general strike on trains and public services and protests by both students and labor unions demanding higher wages and other measures.
French President Emmanuel Macron’s government is focusing on Thursday’s actions and negotiating with unions — a familiar ballet in French politics -- and hoping that the harder-to-control rioting dies down, according to an official close to the president.
The official described Saturday’s protests as ?a return to republican order? but acknowledged the situation is ?not perfect.'' The official was not authorized to be publicly named according to presidential policy.
More than 100,000 mostly young people protested peacefully across Germany on Saturday, demanding that the government invest more money in education, housing, climate protection and make daily life more affordable. In some cities the protests turned violent at night.
Following a demonstration in Frankfurt, rioters attacked police downtown and looted stores. More than 100 officers were injured and 54 people — aged 13 to 29 — were detained. It wasn't clear how many of the protesters were injured. Police said 17 stores were damaged and five of those were looted. After police cordoned off an area in the city center, the situation calmed down by early Sunday morning.
“I am shocked by the violent excesses in Frankfurt, which will not go unpunished,” said Boris Rhein, the governor of Hesse, where Frankfurt is located. “Anyone who behaves like the attackers in downtown Frankfurt places themselves outside our society.''
Violence also broke out Saturday night in Cologne, where police used water cannons to disperse the crowd. In Berlin, protesters attacked police with bottles and pyrotechnics.
The organizers of Saturday’s protests, a youth initiative called “Gen Z regelt” — roughly “Gen Z’s got this" — posted a statement on Instagram distancing itself from “any form of violence, as well as violent acts by other groups or individuals” who were not part of the demonstrations.
German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt accused “violent left-wing groups and troublemakers from the immigrant community'' of hijacking peaceful demonstrations. “The rioters and looters will be identified and held accountable,'' Dobrindt told daily paper Bild on Sunday.
In Portugal, riot police overnight removed protesters by force from a square in Lisbon following protests for more affordable housing. Thousands of people marched through the city during the day and at the end a few hundred camped out in Rossio, an iconic square in downtown Lisbon. Police intervened early Sunday, removing tents and pushing people away, and a few were detained.
Portuguese demonstrators have been protesting for weeks following inspiration from the Spanish movement to call out rising living costs, especially housing costs.
___
Grieshaber reported from Berlin. Helena Alves in Lisbon, Portugal, contributed to this report.
