Репортаж с бунта. Я попал под газ на митинге в Париже | Протесты, мародеры и стычки с полицией

Summary

The report follows protests in Paris and other French cities in late October, a week after demonstrations on October 17 escalated into looting, fires, and clashes with police. Host Ilya Varlamov and journalist Denis Kataev report from the streets, showing boarded-up shops and damage left by the earlier unrest. Ahead of the next march, authorities deployed large numbers of police and gendarmes, changed the approved route, and restricted demonstrations in several cities.

The report traces the protests to overlapping grievances. Teachers and students protested staff and funding shortages, overcrowded classes, and difficult school conditions. Broader discontent included rising fuel and food costs, wages lagging behind inflation, and a proposed budget that would freeze some benefits and pay. Trade unions, supporters of the Yellow Vests, and other groups joined the movement, while some protesters called for President Emmanuel Macron’s resignation.

Interviewed demonstrators expressed differing views on the violence. Many condemned looting and argued that peaceful protest and organization through unions were more effective. Others said years of unheeded demands and police repression had fueled public anger, though they did not necessarily support vandalism. Varlamov emphasizes that the large march was predominantly peaceful and that its participants should not be conflated with those who looted shops.

The report also describes clashes near the end of the Paris march. Police used tear gas, stun grenades, and water cannon as some masked people threw objects and set off fireworks. Varlamov experienced tear gas and dangerous crowd crushes, criticizing police tactics that he said pushed people into bottlenecks and caused panic. The report notes injuries among protesters and recounts a widely circulated video of a volunteer medic allegedly being beaten by police; authorities opened an investigation. Police searches at the march included confiscating masks and protective equipment.

The report cites substantial damage and arrests from the October 17 unrest: roughly 3,000 businesses were reportedly affected, with estimated losses approaching €1 billion. For the October 24 demonstrations, it gives official attendance of about 410,000 nationwide, including 110,000 in Paris, while organizers estimated a much larger turnout. The later protests ended in limited incidents rather than a repeat of the previous week’s widespread destruction. Authorities also began working with online marketplaces to identify listings suspected of offering looted goods.

Political responses ranged from Macron’s condemnation of the violence and promise of firm policing to criticism that the government had not addressed protesters’ underlying demands. The report says the unrest could benefit far-right leader Marine Le Pen politically, while left-wing leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon backed protesters but urged them not to loot. It also describes demonstrations of solidarity with mayors and discusses Palestinian flags at the march: some participants linked the Palestinian cause to broader struggles against oppression, while one flag initially mistaken for Palestinian was identified as the flag of Martinique.

Varlamov concludes that social media feeds can present sharply different pictures of the same events, and that the crowds he saw included many ordinary demonstrators. The report says unions were planning a nationwide strike for November 5, with demands for higher wages and pensions, more funding for public services, and opposition to the proposed budget. It briefly notes protests in Italy over living costs and public services, and in Spain over pensions.

Presenters and Contributors

• Ilya Varlamov — host and reporter
• Denis Kataev — journalist and field reporter
• Unnamed protesters, residents, and activists — interviewees
• Commentators mentioned: Lisa Lazerson, Elizaveta Osetinskaya, and Zinaida Pronchenko