There were over 500 arrests and numerous violent incidents across France on Wednesday but the far-left failed to bring the country to a standstill.

The Minister of the Interior, Bruno Retailleau, thanked the ‘responsiveness’ of the police and rejoiced that the ‘blockaders did not block France’.

Most of the demonstrators I saw were students and freeing Palestine, not saving France, was their preoccupation

Over 200 of the arrests were made in Paris, where thousands had gathered throughout the day, first at the Place de la République and later at the Place du Châtelet. There were some scuffles late in the day at the Place de la République between protestors and police but the mayhem that the authorities feared never materialised.

In Paris at least it was a very white middle-class protest.

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