# Paris Protest Ends in Clashes as Turnout Estimates Diverge By Enna Lee Canonical URL: https://www.tokenpost.com/news/investing/40347 Published: 2026-10-24T23:59:12.000Z Updated: 2026-10-24T23:59:12.000Z Section: Investing > France’s Interior Ministry counted 410,000 people across 289 public actions, while the CGT estimated nearly 800,000 as of 11:30 a.m. ET. A mostly peaceful march in Paris over education funding and household costs ended in clashes Saturday, while competing attendance estimates left the size of the nationwide demonstrations disputed. Masked demonstrators threw objects and fireworks near the march’s eastern endpoint. Police responded with tear gas, sound grenades and water cannons. Shopkeepers boarded storefronts across Paris amid concerns about renewed looting after the previous weekend’s protests. France’s Interior Ministry counted 410,000 people across 289 public actions nationwide at a briefing at 1:30 p.m. ET (17:30 UTC). The CGT labor union counted nearly 800,000 people as of 11:30 a.m. ET (15:30 UTC). In Paris, the ministry estimated 110,000 participants, while the CGT’s estimate was 250,000. At that briefing, Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said police had made nearly 1,000 arrests nationwide. He described the total as preliminary and expected it to rise as officials consolidated the figures. Before Saturday’s march, the ministry told local prefects to review routes and consider bans where they saw a risk of further damage, following the Oct. 17 protests, which involved looting and attacks on businesses and public buildings. Saturday’s demonstrations grew out of a protest over staffing shortages at a high school southeast of Paris and broadened to include demands for education funding and help with household costs. France’s consumer price index rose 3.1% year over year in September, while energy prices climbed 21.3%. Teacher Bénédicte Pittion said, “The young people who have been demonstrating have not been heard, and as a parent and as a teacher, I stand with them.” TokenPost previously covered [French protests and inflation](). ## Links in this article - [French protests and inflation](https://www.tokenpost.com/news/investing/35143)