DOMINANT ANGLE
Kuala Lumpur is examining the police record of the French protests: 1,314 arrests on one hand, and testimonies from tear-gassed and beaten protesters on the other, as reported by AFP dispatches.
Dominant angle identified — does not reflect unanimity of this country’s media
KEY POINTS
- 01
The French Interior Ministry reported 1,314 arrests, 53 police officers injured, 75 fires, and 24 looted businesses.
- 02
Two protesters were seriously injured, in Toulouse (a 20-year-old man, wounded in the hand) and in Clermont-Ferrand, according to Minister Laurent Nuñez.
- 03
At the Porte de Vincennes, police used tear gas and batons at the end of the procession, according to AFP reporters quoted by Malay Mail.
ANALYSIS
Kuala Lumpur, October 25, 2026. The Malaysian press, relying on AFP dispatches, reports on the second consecutive weekend of unrest in France over the cost of living. The Sun MY leads with the official toll: 1,314 people arrested and 53 police officers injured, according to the Ministry of the Interior, which also reports 75 fires and 24 looted businesses during Saturday's demonstrations. "Several investigations have been opened," it says, without elaboration. It describes the rest of the night as "calm" once the clashes subsided.
The same text notes that Sunday's statement does not specify how many protesters were injured. Minister Laurent Nuñez had mentioned two serious injuries late Saturday, in Toulouse and Clermont-Ferrand. The Toulouse prefecture told AFP that a 20-year-old man had a hand injury; an anonymous first responder claims that "several fingers" on his right hand were torn off. In Clermont-Ferrand, the prefecture reports a hand injury, without any fingers lost. La Nouvelle République reports a man injured in his left eye in Poitiers.
Malay Mail, under the title "Do you hear the people sing?", publishes a panorama of AFP reporters deployed in the cities. At the Porte de Vincennes, on the eastern outskirts of Paris, police used tear gas and baton charges at the end of the procession. A student, David, with a cut face, says police "beat many people". In Lille, the march, which started in a calmer atmosphere than the previous week, was plunged into a cloud of gas after an hour, following a few projectiles thrown at the police. Eline, 23, was protesting for the first time and says she was gassed while doing nothing; Appoline, 25, said she was "terrified" by the images of police action and carried a sign for people mutilated during previous demonstrations.
The prism retained is thus that of law and order and its consequences: arrest and injury figures on one side, testimonies of police violence on the other. The political deadline is only mentioned in the background: France is heading towards a presidential election in April and May to succeed Emmanuel Macron, who is reaching the limit of his two terms.
