France Opens Attempted Murder Inquiry as Youth-Led Protests Turn Violent Across Europe

French prosecutors have opened an investigation into attempted murder after incendiary devices were thrown at security forces during protests in Paris, Al Jazeera reported. The case followed a weekend of largely peaceful, mainly youth-led demonstrations across Europe over living costs and public services that ended in violence in several countries.

More than 770 people were arrested across France, the interior ministry said, and 159 members of law enforcement were injured during the protests and Halloween celebrations.

What happened in Paris

The Paris prosecutor’s office said explosive devices were thrown at about 15 gendarmes and police officers. The formal inquiry covers attempted murder of persons vested with public authority. Video shared on social media and shown on French television showed a homemade firebomb exploding at an officer’s feet and engulfing his lower body in flames, according to Al Jazeera and The Guardian.

Prosecutors said an assessment of the injured was continuing and that reported injuries included second-degree burns. The officer who was hit told broadcaster RTL that his unit had been under assault with bottles, paving stones and firebombs, and that the protective gear on his legs melted. He said his own injuries were minor. The gendarmerie told RTL that 13 members of his unit were hurt.

No suspects had been arrested in connection with the attack as of Sunday, the prosecutor’s office said, adding that investigators were working to identify those responsible.

Unrest in France and beyond

Violence broke out in Paris, Marseille, Grenoble, Bordeaux, Lyon and Toulouse on Saturday night after an estimated 320,000 demonstrators took to the streets, The Guardian reported. Masked and hooded rioters arrived as the rallies ended. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez described the level of violence by some as “extraordinary.” It was still well below the unrest of Oct. 17, when 2,600 people were arrested and as many as 3,000 shops were looted, the newspaper said.

In Germany, more than 100,000 people marched in over 30 cities under the “Gen Z regelt” campaign, demanding better education and lower living costs. In Frankfurt, hooded rioters damaged 17 shops, looting five of them, and threw missiles including petrol bombs, according to Hesse state interior minister Roman Poseck. More than 100 of the 1,300 police officers deployed were injured, and 54 suspects aged 13 to 29 were arrested. Poseck said the situation could not go on like this. The campaign said it distanced itself from all violence.

German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said those responsible would be identified and held accountable, and called for tough penalties. He blamed violent left-wing groups and troublemakers from the migrant community, a characterization made by the minister. Poseck said most of those arrested were German nationals, while police estimated they faced between 1,000 and 1,500 violent troublemakers, predominantly from a migrant background.

Police also clashed with protesters in Cologne, Berlin, Zürich and Basel. In Portugal, riot police cleared a housing protest camp in Lisbon’s Rossio Square on Sunday, and a smaller one in Porto, as demonstrators demanded the government withdraw a bill that makes evictions easier and ends rent caps on new leases. In Albania, protesters threw stones and firebombs at police in Tirana during a demonstration calling for Prime Minister Edi Rama to resign.

Why it matters

The protests are driven by anger over the education system, declining public services, weak prospects, unaffordable housing and rising living costs, according to The Guardian. The violence at the margins is now shifting the debate toward policing and punishment, with Dobrindt calling for harsh penalties.

In France, the unrest comes in a tense political climate. Al Jazeera noted that presidential elections are six months away. Far-right frontrunner Marine Le Pen, leader of the National Rally, said on X that those behind the firebomb attack must be punished with the utmost severity, and has vowed to restore law and order if elected next year.

What happens next

French investigators are still trying to identify who threw the devices, and the count of injured is not final. In Germany, officials have said the rioters and looters will be identified and held accountable.

Around Prague, based on reporting by The Guardian, Al Jazeera