Follow-Up: 232 Jailed Over France's October 17 Riots: Justice Minister Says More Than 1,100 Have Faced Court as Prosecutors Are Told to Seek Tough Penalties
France's justice minister, Gérald Darmanin, said on October 23 that, one week after the protest riots that swept much of France on October 17, courts have jailed 232 people, more than 1,100 people have appeared in court, and around 260 cases involve charges of organised gang activity. The figures are the latest in the judicial response to the unrest, as France braced for a new round of protests on Saturday, October 24, with some 70,000 police officers deployed nationwide.
Darmanin said on Thursday that about 2,700 people had been detained since October 17, and that about half of those jailed had no previous criminal record and were mostly men aged 18 to 25. He has instructed prosecutors to seek punitive measures against those convicted of looting or attacking police, including banning them from demonstrations, removing their voting rights and restricting their access to social media. Justice Ministry figures show that as of September 1, French prisons held 90,020 inmates, well above their capacity of 63,348 places; Darmanin said the answer to overcrowding was to create more prison space, not to imprison fewer people.
The tough response has drawn criticism. Some lawyers have accused the judiciary of an overly repressive approach, and Jean-Luc Mélenchon, leader of La France Insoumise, criticised what he called heavy-handed policing and accused President Emmanuel Macron of "destroying the republican state," while calling on supporters to join Saturday's protests and condemning the rioting that follows them. On Thursday, Macron had called for "the utmost severity" against acts of delinquency.
The new protests were set to go ahead across France on Saturday: marches in Paris and Marseille were authorised along set routes, while rallies in Lyon, Nice and Montpellier were banned by local authorities. About 50 organisations also called for a protest against the far right in Orléans, where Marine Le Pen's National Rally is holding its party congress this weekend.
Related: France Deploys 70,000 Police for Saturday Protests as Paris Museums Close
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 2026年10月17日巴黎共和国广场抗议现场：人群面对催泪气体，共和国纪念碑笼罩在烟雾之中。照片：Jorge Jaramillo（JJxFile），CC BY-SA 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons
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