Police fired tear gas and charged at demonstrators today to disperse crowds of tens of thousands during anti-government protests across France.
asserted
Police → fire → France
Around 106,000 people took to the streets nationwide on Saturday in cities including Paris for the so-called Act V demonstrations.
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people → take → demonstrations
More than 120 people were arrested during the fifth consecutive Saturday of mass protests, which have sent shockwaves across the country.
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which → arrest → country
Crowds gathered to jeer at police and demand the resignation of President Emmanuel Macron, whose popularity has slumped to its lowest level since 2017.
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popularity → gather → 2017
Footage shot in Paris showed a riot-control unit battling with youngsters close to Place de la Nation, on the eastern side of Paris, towards the end of a march.
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unit → shoot → march
Meanwhile, armoured officers were seen chasing protesters through the streets of France, striking demonstrators with batons as clashes escalated.
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clashes → see → batons
Trade union activist Remi Durand said: 'The police were ridiculously heavy handed - they were attacking anyone they could find with their weapons.'
The protests were originally sparked by anger over a rise in fuel taxes and the cost of living, before broadening into a wider movement against Mr Macron's government and his economic policies.
uncertain
protests → say → government
Protesters clash with riot police during a demonstration against rising living costs and cuts to public services in Montpellier, France, on Saturday, November 14, 2026
Police intervene as fire breaks out on the street during a demonstration as the people march from the Manufacture des Tabacs to Place Jean-Mace on Saturday, November 14, 2026 in Lyon, France
A riot police officer looks on in front of a burning barricade during riots after a demonstration as part of a nationwide protest over the rising cost of living and inequality organised by the Yellow Vest movement in Lyon on November 14, 2026
By 6pm today, a French Interior Ministry spokesman said: 'There have been 121 arrests across the country so far, following disturbances in numerous cities and towns.
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spokesman → clash → cities
'
Adrien, a 20-year-old cello player in a volunteer orchestra at the Paris rally, said the focus of the day was a new bill in parliament to give police who use their weapons a presumption of legitimate self-defence.
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who → say → defence
'We're scared when we come to a protest, and this will only make us even more afraid if their impunity is strengthened,' he said, after tear gas fell on protesting musicians last month.
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gas → come → musicians
Backers of the new police bill – including the hard-Right party of leading presidential hopeful Marine Le Pen – say a new law is necessary to avoid officers being automatically suspected of using disproportionate force.
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officers → include → force
Activists argue it would amount to a 'licence to kill', and make holding security forces accountable even harder in a country where alleged police brutality cases rarely reach a criminal court.
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cases → argue → court
Others nationwide demanded better learning conditions, more children's rights or simply sang for a better France.
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Others → demand → France
In the southwestern city of Bordeaux, 72-year-old Josette belted out protest song 'I have two passions: brass bands and revolution'.
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I → belt → passions
'My children didn't want me to come,' she said.
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she → want → ?
'But I'm so grateful to the youth for starting this movement.
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I → start → movement
'
'They're giving us hope at a time when it feels like we're heading straight for disaster, with a planet that keeps getting hotter and far-right movements that are increasingly unapologetic.'
Riot police officers charge to disperse demonstrators during a nationwide day of protests in Paris on November 14, 2026
Protesters walk amid a cloud of tear gas during a demonstration in Marseille, southern France, on November 14, 2026 as part of a nationwide day of protests
Demonstrators set up a makeshift barricade during a demonstration as part of a nationwide mobilisation against violence, amid a protest movement by high school students, in Nantes on November 14, 2026
Weeks of unrest erupted over a campaign led by high school students calling for the equivalent of around £9billion to be put into the education system.
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equivalent → give → system
It has now mushroomed into a mass movement encompassing multiple groups, from trade unions to Black Bloc anarchists and the Yellow Vest movement - a protest against fuel tax increases that erupted in 2018.
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that → mushroom → 2018
Around 106,000 people took to the streets nationwide on Saturday, including 24,000 in Paris, the interior ministry said, in the lowest turnout in recent weeks.
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ministry → take → weeks
Student unions put the number of demonstrators at 200,000, including almost 100,000 in the capital.
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unions → put → capital
'No justice, no peace,' a protester shouted into a megaphone in Paris as people including students, unions and Yellow Vest activists demonstrated for the fifth Saturday in a row.
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people → shout → row
Others called for the president to resign, or cried 'Everybody hates the police', as a group carried a giant puppet whose hat read 'Lord Macron'.
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hat → call → Macron
Some of the largely peaceful rallies in recent weeks have seen fringe violence, as well as accusations of police brutality, including against young teenagers.
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Some → see → teenagers
Saturday's arrest total added to at least 4,000 people who have been taken into custody during disturbances over the past month alone, with hundreds wounded.
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hundreds → add → month
Two masked demonstrators hold a French flag in front of a burning barricade during riots after a demonstration as part of a nationwide protest over the rising cost of living and inequality organised by the Yellow Vest movement in Lyon on November 14, 2026
A protester kicks back a tear gas canister during a demonstration in Bordeaux, south-western France, on November 14, 2026
Police intervene as demonstrators gather during a protest against the rising cost of living, organized as part of Act V of the social movement, in Strasbourg, France on November 14, 2026
Some 70,000 police officers and gendarmes have been deployed on each of these Saturdays under orders from France's Minister of the Interior Laurent Nunez.
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officers → hold → Nunez
He also warned of multiple social media posts 'calling for acts of violence against the police and public buildings'.
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He → warn → police
Mr Nunez said there would be 'an extremely firm response' to any such 'acts of violence'.
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Nunez → say → violence
An attempted murder investigation has been launched after petrol bombs were hurled at gendarmes during a march in Paris at the end of last month, he added.
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he → attempt → month
Arson is also emerging as a growing concern during the protests, with a series of attacks targeting public buildings.
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Arson → emerge → buildings
Among them was the 19th-century town hall in Limoges, which was nearly burned to the ground last month, while a historic tourist office in Lyon was also set ablaze.
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office → burn → Lyon
Left-wing politicians have been accused of stirring up trouble, while they say that paramilitary police units have provoked the crowds.
Jean-Luc Melenchon, the presidential candidate for the France Unbowed party, said too many tear gas canisters had been fired at peaceful demonstrators.
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canisters → accuse → demonstrators
Protesters take part in a demonstration against rising living costs and cuts to public services as a sign reading 'Class struggle' is displayed in Montpellier, France, on Saturday, November 14, 2026
He claimed: 'It seems that confrontation is the very goal of this public-order strategy.
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confrontation → take → strategy
The unrest comes as France prepares for a presidential election in April.
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France → come → April
Mr Macron's popularity is the lowest it has ever been since he first became president in 2017, according to recent polls, and the government has little leeway to respond to protester demands as it struggles to reduce its debt.
uncertain
it → become → debt
Opinion polls suggest Marine Le Pen, the hard-Right National Rally candidate, could go head-to-head against hard-Left candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon in the second round.
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Pen → suggest → round
She is currently appealing against a conviction for embezzling taxpayers' cash from the European Parliament, so could become the first convicted criminal to enter the Élysée Palace.
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She → appeal → Palace
In the southern city of Toulouse, Kenza, a 28-year-old asylum law specialist, denounced the government's response to the social unrest.
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Kenza → denounce → unrest
'The repression of protesters is unacceptable - even more so when they are children,' she said.
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she → say → protesters
Lawyers last week said police violence at recent protests had led to 'mutilations' including hand, foot and eye injuries.
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violence → say → injuries
Saturday's rallies were largely peaceful but police fired tear gas to disperse crowds in Paris, Bordeaux and the western city of Nantes.
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police → fire → Nantes
…and 2 more, not listed.
The Aporia
