France jails 329 protest participants, total number of detainees reaches 4,914

Following three weeks of mass protest actions in France, which lasted from 17 October, law enforcement agencies detained 4,914 people. According to official data, 329 of them are already behind bars.

Assessment of authorities' actions and court statistics

This was stated by Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin, summarising the judicial review of cases related to the protests that took place on three consecutive Saturdays: 17, 24, and 31 October. The official government representative characterised the justice system's reaction as "надзвичайно рішучу" (extremely resolute).

According to the minister, the prosecution initiated criminal proceedings against 2,290 people. Meanwhile, 1,820 detainees were directly referred to court. In total, judicial bodies issued 404 sentences of imprisonment. Although some of these sentences did not provide for immediate incarceration, for example, due to ongoing appeal procedures, 329 people have actually already been placed in prisons.

Profile of action participants

Gerald Darmanin emphasised that 70% of the detainees are adult citizens. In his opinion, this figure indicates that it is a "рух дорослих, а не про продовження руху ліцеїстів" (movement of adults, not a continuation of the high school student movement).

The minister noted that the profiles of the individuals against whom proceedings have been opened are "надзвичайно різноманітними" (extremely diverse) and varied significantly depending on the date of the actions. Among those detained on 17 October, between 60% and 70% had no prior legal issues. In contrast, among the 240 people detained after the 31 October actions, the proportion of individuals with a prior history of offences was higher.