French police fire tear gas at protesters in Lyon as new demonstrations kick off across country

French police have started firing tear gas at protesters as they step up security in major cities, aiming to prevent a repeat of rioting a week ago, on a day of fresh nationwide demonstrations over the high cost of living.

Police in the southeast city of Lyon fired tear gas to disperse some 150 protesters near the city center — where demonstrations had been banned — when they briefly tried to block a road, an AFP journalist reports seeing.

????????LYON – MANIFESTATION DU 24 OCTOBRE

Premiers tirs de gaz lacrymogène à Lyon pic.twitter.com/kDJLattszE

— Direct Brut (@DirectBrut) October 24, 2026

Earlier, a police helicopter could be seen flying over the city, with security forces patrolling and armored vehicles and riot police vans parked nearby. Shops were boarded up, with private security guards in front of some. Calls to defy the bans on protests in the city center have circulated on social media.

Police have also been seen readying riot gear in zones that bore the brunt of last weekend’s clashes and looting.

Numerous riot police vans could be also seen in France’s second largest city of Marseille, along with armored vehicles and water cannon.

A heavy police presence has also been reported in Paris’ Place de la Bastille, along with many journalists, but few protesters. Police are using a megaphone to tell the crowd that the demonstration had been banned from the area, and ask protesters to go to the alternate route near Porte d’Italie “immediately.”