During the protests against the cost of living on October 24, far-right groups attacked participants in the marches in several cities, and in a number of places, as eyewitnesses and journalists claim, police reacted weakly. This was stated by representatives of “Unsubmissive France” (LFI); some cases were confirmed by the Interior Ministry and local authorities. According to LFI’s calculations, this concerns 14 cities; according to Interior Ministry data, roughly 13–15. Interior Minister Laurent Nunez directly confirmed such cases in Nice and Montpellier.
According to the Interior Ministry’s estimate, the actions gathered about 410,000 people, the CGT union says 800,000. Nunez called the appearance of far-right activists seeking clashes with the far left “the first case at a demonstration.” According to the ministry’s version, these groups took on the task of “protecting shops,” but in reality were looking for fights. The minister instructed prefects to go to court and warned of possible administrative consequences.
In Nice, 59 people were detained, 11 of them presumably linked to the far-right milieu. Some had masks, gloves, gas canisters and batons. Prosecutor Damien Martinelli promised an “extremely harsh response,” and an investigation is underway into violence under aggravating circumstances. According to later France 3 data, 63 people were detained in Nice, about a dozen of them far-right.
Montpellier Mayor Michel Delafosse stated that a “far-right militia” operated in the city, using violence against demonstrators, and reported this to the prosecutor. LFI deputy Mathilde Panot claims that police in Montpellier did not react. The Hérault prefecture says otherwise: law enforcement intervened repeatedly to disperse these groups.
In Rouen, according to Blast, members of the “Entraide Citoyenne” group attacked demonstrators in the city center, “in front of the police.” One of the protesters told France 3: “They chased us and threw glass bottles at us.” Libération writes of a “passive, if not indulgent” position of the police in Nancy. Nunez denies that police “even once” protected the far right, and authorities call the day “controlled.” These contradictions remain the main subject of dispute around the protests.
The publication Le Poing, a day before the protests, described how such groups emerged. Fitness blogger Charlie D., known as Alpha Rise, called for creating “mutual aid groups” to protect shops after the October 17 pogroms. According to the publication, the network covers 66 groups in 66 cities, and the initiative was supported by the far-right “Jeunes d’Oc” from Montpellier. In Telegram channels, journalists found racist and Islamophobic statements and calls for violence.
In a number of cities, eyewitnesses and journalists claim that police did not stop the attackers. This question has become one of the main ones in the public reaction to the protests. In the eyes of the public, such passivity of the authorities means that the far right has become an instrument for containing protests.
