An exceptional period of protest, even by French standards, researchers saypublished at 4:38 p.m. BST
By Daniel Wainwright
France is experiencing an “exceptional” period of protest, according to data from the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data (Acled) project.
The independent organization collects and analyzes information on political violence and protests around the world.
Acled says it has recorded nearly 66 protests per day in France during the current wave of unrest, more than three times the average of just over 20 per day during times of unrest over the past five years. Its data dates back to last Friday October 16.
Nearly a quarter of the recorded events were classified by Acled as riots, compared to an average of less than 2% during previous waves of protest. Acled said only the unrest following the shooting of Nahel Merzouk by French police in Nanterre in 2023 recorded a higher proportion of riots.
It also recorded more than 400 events involving arrests, compared to 138 during French protests against pension reform in 2023, but demonstrations in small towns remained “largely peaceful.”
Acled’s chief executive, Professor Clionadh Raleigh, of 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 are recording now makes this exceptional, even by its own standards.”
BBC Verify has previously used Acled data to track conflicts, including strikes by the US, Israel, Iran and Iranian-backed groups in the Middle East.
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