France cost-of-living protests arrests, Digi Mart USA News (France): Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin said Tuesday morning on BFMTV that 4,914 people had been placed in police custody since October 17, the first day of protests against the rising cost of living in France. He said 329 people had been incarcerated over the same period.
Darmanin said 70% of those taken into custody were adults and 30% were minors, adding that this showed the movement was driven by adults rather than a continuation of high school student protests. He said 1,820 people had been brought before a court and tried by a correctional judge, with 404 custodial sentences handed down and 329 people incarcerated.
The justice minister described the profiles of those involved as highly varied. He said 95% were men and 5% women, two-thirds were between 18 and 25 years old, 70% were French, and more than 50% had no prior criminal record.
Hundreds of thousands of people marched across France on Saturday, the third consecutive weekend, during the third “act” of the mobilization against the cost of living. The day ended with acts of violence in several cities, including Paris.
