Thick white and blue smoke swallowed the streets of Marseille on Saturday night, October 24, as clashes erupted at the end of a large union-led protest. Footage now spreading online shows burning objects on the ground and people in dark clothing running between bollards and buildings, and the account sharing it claims riot police were forced to pull back. That retreat has not been confirmed by officials in the coverage so far, but the chaos on screen is hard to ignore. The march itself, fuelled by anger over rising living costs, inequality and school conditions, drew 17,000 people according to police and 100,000 according to the CGT union, and it stayed largely calm until night fell.

Then the mood flipped. Youths reportedly hurled rocks, bottles and mortar fireworks at officers, who answered with tear gas, while bins were set alight and some shops were looted, with police saying two jewelry stores were raided. Dozens of arrests followed in the Marseille area. Similar unrest hit Paris, Lyon and other French cities despite a heavy security operation that included armored vehicles, banned marches and curfews. The big questions now are how a mostly peaceful demonstration slid into street battles so quickly, whether the bans and heavy policing added fuel to the anger, and what happens when more protests are called in the days ahead.