Follow-Up: French PM Sébastien Lecornu Says 1,200 Detained Nationwide on Protest Day, Calls Violence Organized
Late on Saturday, October 17, French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu announced at about 11:30 p.m. Paris time that police had detained 1,200 people nationwide during the day's cost-of-living protests. The figure updates the earlier evening tally given by Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez, whose preliminary count put turnout at about 550,000 people in 110 marches across France (about 110,000 in Paris), with about 400 detained and 60 officers injured, two of them hospitalized after losing consciousness; organizers and the CGT union put nationwide turnout above 800,000. The two detention figures are snapshots at different times and must not be added together; the Interior Ministry's final written tally is still to come.
According to Sweden's TT News Agency and The Times, Lecornu also said in the same late-night statement that 150 police officers were injured during the day — a later figure than the 60 officers Nuñez had reported earlier in the evening; the two are snapshots at different times and are not combined. Lecornu said the smashing and arson seen in several cities showed 'a very organized will to strike hard and use violence.' President Emmanuel Macron posted on X that those who smashed property, attacked prefectures and shops and looted town halls would be prosecuted and punished. Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin said he had instructed prosecutors to deliver an 'extremely firm' judicial response.
The day's protests were called by Yellow Vest members, high-school and university students, joined by trade unions, over the rising cost of living, fuel prices and strained public services. Vehicles and a newsstand were set on fire near Place de la République in Paris, where police used tear gas; clashes were also reported in Lyon and Marseille, and Limoges city hall was broken into and set ablaze. Nuñez said no state of emergency would be declared. Detentions rose through the day from 166 at midday and 272 in the afternoon to about 400 in the evening tally, before the prime minister's late-night update of 1,200 nationwide. (GSM, based on reporting by Le Figaro and BFM TV)
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：10月17日，抗议人群聚集在巴黎 Nation 广场一带——当日全法举行生活成本抗议。Chabe01 摄，CC BY-SA 4.0，取自维基共享资源。Photo: Protesters gather near Place de la Nation in Paris on Oct. 17, during the nationwide cost-of-living protests. By Chabe01, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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