An exceptional period of protests, even by France’s standards, researchers saypublished at 16:38 BST
16:38 BST
By Daniel Wainwright
France is experiencing an “exceptional” period of protests, according to data from the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data project (Acled).
The independent organisation collects and analyses information on political violence and demonstrations around the world.
Acled says it has recorded almost 66 demonstrations a day in France during the current wave of unrest, more than three times the average of just over 20 per day in periods of unrest during the past five years. Its data goes up to last Friday, 16 October.
Almost a quarter of recorded events have been classified by Acled as riots, compared with an average of less than 2% in previous protest waves. Acled said only the unrest following the 2023 shooting of Nahel Merzouk by French police in Nanterre recorded a higher proportion of riots.
It has also recorded more than 400 events involving arrests, compared with 138 during the 2023 French pension reform protests, however demonstrations in smaller towns have remained “largely peaceful”.
Acled chief executive Prof Clionadh Raleigh, from the University of Sussex, said: “France has always been a country where people take to the streets.
“But the frequency, duration and level of confrontation we’re recording now make this exceptional, even by its own standards.”
BBC Verify has previously used Acled data to help track conflicts, including strikes carried out by the US, Israel, Iran and Iran-backed groups in the Middle East.