This is the ultra-left, and it comes in all colours: A night with the Paris protesters

November 8, 2026 — 3:45pm

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Paris: The young man in the mask stands in front of the fire and raises his arms in a show of strength.

The burning rubbish on the street behind him, spilled from a bin and set alight, makes the perfect backdrop for his moment of defiance.

Photographers cluster around him to capture the theatrical pose. But it is over in minutes when the young man, with his red mask and bull’s horns, runs back to the crowd to clash with the police.

This is another Saturday night in Paris during a season of violent protest that began with student rallies and escalated into riots and looting.

I am in the Place de la Nation, east of the city centre, after a protest over school conditions and the cost of living brought an estimated 46,000 people onto the streets of the capital.

The march, approved by authorities and mostly peaceful, was supposed to finish quietly at this public space. But everyone knew it would not. As the sun set, the masked activists at the front of the crowd prepared to confront the police.

This turns the protest into a small riot. The activists wield fireworks against police and start fires along Boulevard Voltaire. The police respond with repeated warnings over a loudspeaker telling people to leave the area.

As at earlier protests over the past few........

© Brisbane Times