French justice minister says 123 people are in custody after riots

French Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin said on October 20 that 123 people were being held in prison following riots across France. He gave the figure in an interview with CNews.

Darmanin said those held were either in pretrial detention or subject to judicial committal orders.

RIA Novosti reported that the protests began in mid-September with secondary school students in the Paris suburbs demanding better school conditions. People protesting rising prices subsequently joined, and demonstrations spread across the country.

Nationwide protests on October 17 were accompanied by riots. About 550 thousand people took part in the demonstrations, according to French Interior Ministry figures cited by RIA Novosti. Rioters in Paris and Marseille smashed shop windows and stole merchandise, including from luxury boutiques.