France

France experienced a significant day of mobilization on October 24th, with between 410,000 and 800,000 people protesting across the country against the cost of living and in support of public freedoms. While many demonstrations proceeded peacefully, minor clashes were reported in cities like Nantes, Rennes, and Marseille, with 142 arrests made in Paris, and 126 individuals taken into custody. Laurent Nuñez, the Minister of the Interior, praised law enforcement's handling of the events, noting a reduction in damage compared to previous chaotic demonstrations.

Further details have emerged regarding the deadly racist attack in Trappes. The suspected shooter reportedly told police he targeted individuals based on their skin color to avenge looted shops from October 17th, and a copy of 'Mein Kampf' was discovered at his home. The Mayor of Trappes, Ali Rabeh, called for collective responsibility to combat rising far-right ideologies, while political groups on the left demanded concrete actions against hate speech in the wake of the attack.

In political news, Jordan Bardella was re-elected as president of the far-right National Rally (RN) with nearly 99% of the vote at the party's congress in Orléans. Despite his re-election, some reports suggest Bardella remains under the effective leadership of Marine Le Pen, who is the parliamentary party leader of the RN in the National Assembly. The congress was met with anti-fascist demonstrations nearby, and Mediapart reported physical assaults and threats against its journalists by the RN's security detail during the event.