Wave of protests and violence spreads across several European countries

In depth

A wave of wide-scale protests against the cost of living and government policy spread to several countries in Europe. In France, a third day of protest was held under heavy security, with 70 thousand police officers and gendarmes deployed across the country. Some 320 thousand people went out to demonstrate at various locations, including Paris and Lyon, amid concerns of riots and looting.

Authorities in France reported more than 560 detainees following clashes in which masked individuals threw stones and Molotov cocktails at security forces, who responded with tear gas, stun grenades and water cannons. In the city of Lyon, protesters were filmed stepping on Israeli and US flags and setting them on fire.

At the same time, the wave of protests spread to Germany, where young people and students went out to demonstrate in various cities against the cost of living and the economic situation. The protests later deteriorated into violent clashes with security forces, including looting of shops in Frankfurt and the throwing of Molotov cocktails and fireworks at police in several other cities, such as Cologne and Hamburg.