French protest violence eases and scattered riots hit Germany ahead of more action

French authorities expressed relief on Sunday after protests over rising living costs resulted in less violence compared to previous weekends. Police anticipate new demonstrations as high schools, at the core of the movement, reopen on Monday after their autumn break. Germany faced its own challenges following nationwide protests on Saturday that saw rioters attacking police and looting stores in several cities.

Across Europe, hundreds of thousands participated in peaceful marches inspired by young people on Saturday, despite scattered unrest.

In Paris, rioters targeted police with Molotov cocktails at the end of the march on the city's eastern edge, injuring three officers and setting a car ablaze. Masked groups hurled fireworks at officers near the Eiffel Tower, causing panic among tourists. Overall, the violence was less severe than on October 17, when a city hall was torched and over 2,000 stores were looted throughout the night.

Authorities had arrested 779 people by Saturday night, compared to 2,628 on October 17 and 1,314 the previous weekend. Paris and Marseille police stated that only a few shops were targeted, with no major damage reported. A national police official said Sunday that authorities had prepared for a larger turnout of both peaceful marchers and troublemakers, with around 70,000 police deployed across the country.

Germany saw calm after the night of unrest, with over 100,000 peaceful protesters demanding increased government investment in education, housing, climate protection, and affordable daily life. In some cities, protests turned violent at night. Following a demonstration in Frankfurt, rioters attacked police downtown and looted stores, resulting in several injuries and detentions.

Police cordoned off an area in Frankfurt, calming the situation by early Sunday morning. Governor Boris Rhein of Hesse condemned the violent excesses in Frankfurt and warned anyone behaving like attackers would be outside society.

Violence also erupted in Cologne, where police used water cannons to disperse a crowd. In Berlin, protesters clashed with police using bottles and pyrotechnics. The organizers of the Saturday protests, a youth initiative called "Gen Z regelt," distanced themselves from any form of violence, stating that they and other groups not participating in the demonstrations would not tolerate such acts.

German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt accused "violent left-wing groups and troublemakers from the immigrant community" of hijacking peaceful demonstrations, vowing to identify and hold accountable those responsible for the riots.