French police fired tear gas at protesters in the southeastern city of Lyon on Saturday as authorities deployed up to 70,000 officers nationwide to prevent a repeat of last weekend’s looting and street violence during fresh demonstrations over the cost of living and school conditions.News agency AFP reported that its journalist saw police fire tear gas to disperse around 150 protesters near Lyon’s city centre, where demonstrations had been banned, after they briefly tried to block a road.Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said up to 70,000 officers would be deployed across France, backed by helicopters, armoured vehicles and water cannons, another news agency, Associated Press reported. Nuñez had warned that calls for violence and looting were circulating on social media.“We will not tolerate any unrest,” Nuñez said on Friday.Breaking: First tear gas shots fired in Clermont-Ferrand, #FranceLong day ahead https://t.co/JOuOpJmElX— World_Breaking_News03 (@Breaking2003) October 24, 2026 Authorities and shopkeepers prepared for possible renewed violence as demonstrations were planned across France. Near Paris’s Bastille neighbourhood, a clothing store had removed its merchandise from shelves ahead of the demonstrations, while a nearby restaurant was boarded up with signs insisting it was “still open”, according to the supplied AFP report. Many other retailers in the capital also covered their windows with wooden boards. EXPRESS INFOGENIE · FRANCEWhy France Is ProtestingWhat began as a school blockade near Paris in September has grown into nationwide protests over schools, universities and the cost of living, months before a presidential election. Sept 17 first blockades, at high schools in Créteil250,000 marched on Oct 6, per the Interior Ministry6,000+ arrests by early October, most of them minors70,000 security personnel deployed on Oct 241CLASSROOMSSchool conditionsStudents and teachers point to staff shortages, overcrowded classes of sometimes more than 40, and dilapidated buildings.Public secondary teaching hours, 2024–25 Taught Not taught: nearly 1 in 10One Paris teacher described classrooms reaching 35–40°C during this year’s heatwave.Education ministry, via TIME; Al Jazeera2HIGHER EDUCATIONUniversity accessStudent organisations and unions want 250,000 more university places and an overhaul of Parcoursup, the national admissions platform.250,000 extra places demanded · each block = 25,000 €10bn more for education More permanent teachers €1.5bn school repair planHigher education minister Philippe Baptiste calls scrapping Parcoursup “pure demagogy” but says he is open to “profound changes”.Al Jazeera3HOUSEHOLD BUDGETSCost of livingNationwide marches on Saturday, organised by groups including labour unions, targeted the high cost of living. Protesters accuse the government of ignoring public anger.Energy Groceries Fuel Housing Anger centres on energy, fuel and housing costs and falling purchasing power.AFP, via Dawn; RTÉ4THE UNIONSBudget cuts and public servicesTeachers’ and labour unions have joined the students. France’s main unions have called a nationwide cross-sector strike over cost-cutting in the 2027 budget, amid strain on public services such as schools and hospitals.NOV5Cross-sector strike day called by the main unions. The CGT, the largest, urged its members to join Saturday’s marches peacefully.RTÉ; Life in Rural France5THE 2027 RACEPolitical tensionsThe protests come months before France’s presidential election, with the first round due next April. This weekend Marine Le Pen’s National Rally is in Orléans, launching her campaign, as thousands of counter-protesters march against her and Macron.First-round voting intention, per recent pollsMarine Le Pen 34–38%Jean-Luc Mélenchon 16%Gabriel Attal 15%Édouard Philippe 15%Raphaël Glucksmann 13%Macron, who cannot run again, has no parliamentary majority, making big reforms hard.AFP, via Dawn; RTÉ (poll figures); Al JazeeraTHE GOVERNMENT’S RESPONSE SO FAR3,000 extra substitute teachers+€1.1bn for education in the 2027 budget5-point plan, which students called insufficientMacron was due to meet high school student representatives on Friday, his first talks with them. Students say they want “promises backed by results”. Sources: TIME; Al Jazeera; AFP, via Dawn; RTÉ; Life in Rural France. Figures from the French Interior and Justice ministries as reported.Express InfoGenIECreated by Aniruddha DharAP reported that shopkeepers had been boarding up storefronts across Paris. Near the Saint-Lazare train station, Akram Ahmed, a 34-year-old contractor, was boarding up an optician’s shop.“I got the call last night,” he said. “The owner seemed desperate. He said I was saving his life.”Story continues below this adMajor Paris museums, including the Louvre, the Orsay Museum, the Picasso Museum and the Grand Palais, were closed on Saturday, AP reported. Art Basel Paris, which opened to the public on Friday, cancelled its weekend programme amid fears of unrest.Police also changed the planned Paris march route, replacing the proposed Bastille-to-Nation route with one between Porte d’Italie and Porte de Vincennes, AP reported. At Bastille, the original starting point, police used a megaphone to tell people to leave or face a 135-euro fine.Some rallies, including in Lyon, Nice and Montpellier, had been banned by local authorities. Trade unions criticised the restrictions, saying they violated the right to freedom of expression protected by the constitution.