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France opens attempted murder investigation after petrol bomb thrown at police in Paris

Youth-led protests over living costs and schools also turned violent in parts of Germany, and Portuguese police cleared a Lisbon tent camp.

19 news outlets reported this
Liberal8 outletsCenter6 outletsConservative5 outlets
Published 4 min readMoney and daily life
Overview

Youth-led protests over living costs, schools and public services took place across Europe on Saturday, Oct. 31, and some ended in violence. In France, the interior ministry put turnout at 320,000, and BBC reports the ministry counted more than 770 arrests. In Paris, incendiary devices were thrown at about 15 police and gendarmes, and one officer's leg caught fire.

The Paris prosecutor's office opened a formal attempted murder investigation. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez called the attack a murder attempt. Police said no one had been arrested for it.

The violence was lower than on Oct. 17, when about 2,600 people were arrested. In Germany, protests by the group Gen Z regelt drew crowds in more than 30 cities. Shops were looted in Frankfurt, where police said Molotov cocktails were thrown at emergency services.

The Guardian reports that more than 100 of the 1,300 officers deployed in Frankfurt were injured. German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt blamed "violent leftwing groups and troublemakers from the migrant community" and called for harsh penalties. Gen Z regelt distanced itself from the violence.

In Lisbon, police forcibly cleared a housing-protest tent camp early Sunday. A police official told the AP that French police expect more protests as schools reopen Monday.

Three sides of the story

Liberal8 outlets

Left-leaning outlets describe a mostly peaceful movement with pockets of violence. The Guardian leads with the attempted murder investigation after the Paris petrol bomb, then surveys Europe, quoting Germany's Alexander Dobrindt ("Tough penalties must follow") and Hesse's Roman Poseck, who says "things cannot go on like this." ABC News, running Associated Press reporting, leads with French authorities' relief that violence was lower than on earlier weekends and notes police expect more protests as schools reopen.

It quotes Hesse governor Boris Rhein and says the Gen Z regelt organizers distanced themselves from violence. NBC News focuses on Germany, where activists also oppose plans to bring back mandatory military service. It quotes spokesperson Lina Friedrich and Sheffield lecturer Andrew Barclay, who urges caution in comparing these protests with Serbia's.

CBS News describes largely peaceful marches in France, with costumes and placards, and quotes marcher Aurelie Herrmann, who says you can "perfectly well demonstrate in good spirits."

Center6 outlets

Centrist outlets differ in where they start. BBC News's French report opens with the attempted murder investigation. The injured officer told Le Figaro the device "had a far greater burning capacity than a standard Molotov cocktail," and BBC adds that no one had been arrested.

It also reports protest organizers' claim that dozens of protesters were seriously injured, many by "grenades." BBC's Germany report opens with looted shops in Frankfurt. It quotes Hesse's interior minister, Roman Poseck, on "around 100 clearly identified left-wing extremists" and Cologne's police chief saying young people were "infiltrated" by extremists.

UPI's headline says German police blame "left-wing extremists." It adds Dobrindt's remark about "troublemakers from migrant communities" and a Gen Z regelt spokesperson saying, "We had no influence on what happened after the demonstrations ended." NewsNation, carrying AP, opens with hundreds of thousands of mostly young people marching in France for a third weekend, with 70,000 police deployed and Paris marches rerouted to the capital's edge.

Conservative5 outlets

Right-leaning outlets begin in different places. Breitbart News leads with the Paris investigation into a Molotov attack on police, which Interior Minister Nuñez called an attempted murder. It reports five officers hurt, one of them a gendarme, and attributes the attacks to far-left extremist groups.

It quotes presidential candidates Marine Le Pen and Bruno Retailleau, who both say whoever did it must answer for it. The Daily Wire's headline says rioters hit police with Molotov cocktails and "Set France Ablaze." It cites the New York Post on protesters burning American and Israeli flags in Lyon, and says Nuñez announced that the burned officer had minor injuries.

Fox News leads with the deployment of 70,000 police, adds that videos circulating Saturday appeared to show fresh confrontations, and cites a Chamber of Commerce estimate of retail losses above $1 billion. The New York Post leads with hooded rioters ransacking stores in Frankfurt. It says the interior ministry suggested that Germany's far-left extremists, plus groups tied to extremist movements abroad, helped mobilize the crowds.

It adds that the student body BSK distanced itself and plans its own Nov. 20 demonstration.

Money and daily life

For travelers, Fox News reports the U.S. Embassy in France has advised avoiding areas where large gatherings are taking place. French police expect new protests as high schools reopen Monday, with student groups and unions calling for nationwide demonstrations Tuesday and Thursday, a police official told the Associated Press, as reported by ABC News.

All sources: 37 articles from 19 outlets

Liberal (16)

Center (10)

Conservative (11)

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