Sawt Falasteen - Thousands turn up for France protests amid tight security

Several thousand people, some wearing costumes ranging from Spider-Man to Frankenstein, walked through eastern Paris as a helicopter flew overhead. Placards read: "No need for tear gas to make our future look bleak" and "Dressed up as an angry citizen for Halloween."

The interior ministry put the current nationwide turnout at around 15,000 people, adding the situation remained "generally calm."

Police made 27 arrests by 2:00 pm on Saturday, compared with 217 arrests a week ago.

Smaller rallies took place in cities including Marseille, Toulouse and Lyon.

"We say no to the cost of living, no to the far right, yes to high school students' demands, yes to giving citizens a voice," Camille Guerin, 31, said in the western city of Nantes.

The Paris police prefecture authorised the day's march on the outskirts of the French capital, routing protesters through a working-class residential district.

Around 70,000 security personnel were deployed.

An aide to Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said on Friday that police had prepared for street violence on a scale "comparable" to the unrest two weeks ago, when images of clashes, looted shops and public buildings set ablaze were broadcast around the world.

Between 400 and 800 hard-left activists were expected in Paris, said an informed source.

- 'You killed my France' -

The demonstrations come in a febrile political climate, with presidential elections less than six months away and far-right leader Marine Le Pen leading opinion polls.

The protest movement, bringing together Yellow Vest activists, trade unions, and high school and university students, initially focused on the rising cost of living, inequality, and deteriorating learning conditions.

Following a security clampdown and serious injuries to some protesters, the movement broadened its demands to include greater protection of civil liberties and the right to protest.

Similar youth-led demonstrations have been seen across Europe in recent weeks, with marches also planned on Saturday in Germany.

In the southern French port city of Marseille, several hundred people gathered in the city centre. In a carnival-like atmosphere, demonstrators chanted anti-fascist and anti-government slogans. Some were dressed as clowns and pirates.

In the southwestern city of Toulouse, thousands of young people gathered for an unauthorised march, some in costumes and carrying French flags.

Protesters clapped and sang. "Manu, you killed my France," said one placard, in a reference to President Emmanuel Macron.

- New school blockades -

Student protesters complained the police did not authorise a march through the centre of the French capital and vowed to stage new blockades of high schools and universities next week.

"Starting this Tuesday, we will blockade our universities and high schools, and we will do so again on Thursday before joining the demonstration on November 5 called by workers and trade unions," said Sabrine Kharbach, spokeswoman for the Union etudiante union.

Ahead of the protests, some shopkeepers barricaded their businesses.

In eastern Paris, Wael Boubaker, a cafe employee, covered a storefront with plywood panels.

"Everyone is staying home. No one is going to come and buy anything," lamented Boubaker.

Hard-left presidential candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon, who accused Macron's government of "taking an increasingly authoritarian turn", joined the march in Paris.

"We will demonstrate our firm, calm and disciplined determination to ensure that the fundamental rights of a free people are respected," he said on X.

- 'Nervousness' -

With the eurozone's second-largest economy on the brink of recession and under pressure to rein in its debt, the government has limited scope to appease protesters through additional spending.

A police source has pointed to "considerable nervousness" among the authorities.

Alain Di Crescenzo, president of France's chamber of commerce, said business owners were worried.

"Shopkeepers can't wait for Saturday to be over," Di Crescenzo told broadcaster France Inter.

Nunez said authorities had detected social media calls for Halloween gatherings on Saturday evening urging protesters to spark a "revolution".

K.AbuDahab--SF-PST