French police use tear gas at protests in Lyon and Pau

Police used tear gas to contain unrest during protests in the French cities of Lyon and Pau on Saturday, October 24. In Lyon, officers fired the gas after demonstrators tried to block a street, leading to a minor confrontation. In Pau, a witness filmed the moment a stampede began after the gas was deployed. The AFP news agency reported that police also used tear gas grenades in Lille, Toulouse, and Nantes. Despite these incidents, no major disturbances had been recorded by early afternoon at government-authorized events. Interior Minister Laurent Nunez reported 135 arrests nationwide, many from preventive searches that seized items like metal balls, fireworks, and improvised weapons. Paris museums closed, and shops barricaded ahead of protests, which follow last week's unrest that damaged about 3,000 stores.