Between 550,000 and 800,000 demonstrators marched throughout France during the October 17 mobilization, according to reported data. In Paris, several dozen stores were looted and tensions erupted with the police after demonstrators took over the Champs-Élysées.
The Minister of the Interior announced 400 arrests throughout France. The federation of Parisian traders' associations deplores a dramatic situation and requests financial support from the government given the extent of the damage in the capital, where the sky has been blackened by the fires.
Other incidents marked the day in several cities, notably the destruction of the Limoges town hall by a violent fire, in Saint-Etienne where a demonstrator had his hand torn off by a police grenade, and in Lille where demonstrators forced several entrances to the town hall.