The weekend of 24–25 October 2026 was about more than marches over prices. Two other events took up much of France's attention: a deadly shooting in the Paris suburbs and the far right's official launch of its presidential campaign. Both bear on the question behind the protests, which is what kind of country France becomes after the April 2027 election.
What happened in Trappes
On the morning of Friday, 23 October, a 39-year-old man driving a car fired bursts from a submachine gun at passers-by, killing a 26-year-old man and wounding five others, including a 12-year-old girl. The suspect was arrested shortly afterwards in Coignières, on the RN10 road. The weapon was a Sten Mk II submachine gun dating from the Second World War. Britain made the Sten cheaply and in huge numbers in wartime, and many were never recovered. Police also found that his flat had been booby-trapped with three gas cylinders and electrical wires connected to a timer.
The case is being handled by the PNAT, France's national anti-terrorism prosecutor's office. That matters: in France it is the prosecutors, not politicians, who decide whether a crime is treated as terrorism. On the evening of the attack, Emmanuel Macron spoke in Trappes of a "turning point" after an "attack" committed "on the basis of a racist ideology". In French debate, the word attentat has mostly been used for jihadist attacks, so the president using it about a far-right shooting is significant.
The victim, Pengo Bossio Wangi, trained at an MMA club in Aubervilliers, and the club's founder organised the gathering held on Sunday, 25 October. It was a marche blanche, or "white march": a silent walk of mourning, a tradition France took from Belgium in the 1990s. Several hundred people gathered to pay tribute to him in Aubervilliers, in Seine-Saint-Denis. A clubmate said they had come "to honour his memory", leaving political messages aside. Politics followed anyway. Saint-Denis mayor Bally Bagayoko accused Emmanuel Macron of not having "done enough" against the rise of the far right.
Le Pen and Bardella in Orléans
By chance, the shooting came the day before the National Rally (RN) opened its party congress in Orléans. On Saturday, 24 October, Jordan Bardella was re-elected as party leader after a long morning of protest that drew 13,000 people peacefully according to the authorities, 26,000 according to the organisers. He was the only candidate and won 98.98% of the vote.
On Sunday, 25 October, the congress turned into a campaign rally. Marine Le Pen promised a "national unity", "pluralist" government led by Jordan Bardella. This is the RN's two-person strategy: Le Pen gives the party a familiar face, and Bardella is offered as the man who would run the government. In the arena, activists from the Union of Jewish Students of France protested against antisemitic remarks attributed to the RN president by Mediapart. Outside, about a hundred anti-fascist activists gathered in Orléans despite the bans, some four kilometres from the Co'Met arena.
Why it all connects
The cost-of-living protests started in high schools. By early October they were already a hot topic in the campaign to replace Emmanuel Macron, who is constitutionally barred from a third consecutive term. The background is a fiscal crisis that threatens to turn into a debt crisis as government borrowing costs rise to the highest level in decades, along with a divided parliament with no majority. That leaves three forces competing to define the moment: unions talking about wages, a government talking about public order, and a far right presenting itself as the alternative. Trappes added a fourth factor, fear of political violence.
What remains in place
In Paris, the curfew at République and Les Halles runs from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m., in force since 24 October and announced until 27 October. The PSG–Lyon match was moved to Monday because of the protests, meaning 26 October. The Yellow Vests have announced a new day of mobilisation on 31 October. The union strike on Thursday, 5 November, is still the date that matters most.
The weekend of 24–25 October 2026 was about more than marches over prices. Two other events took up much of France's attention: a deadly shooting in the Paris suburbs and the far right's official launch of its presidential campaign. Both bear on the question behind the protests, which is what kind of country France becomes after the April 2027 election.
What happened in Trappes
On the morning of Friday, 23 October, a 39-year-old man driving a car fired bursts from a submachine gun at passers-by, killing a 26-year-old man and wounding five others, including a 12-year-old girl. The suspect was arrested shortly afterwards in Coignières, on the RN10 road. The weapon was a Sten Mk II submachine gun dating from the Second World War. Britain made the Sten cheaply and in huge numbers in wartime, and many were never recovered. Police also found that his flat had been booby-trapped with three gas cylinders and electrical wires connected to a timer.
The case is being handled by the PNAT, France's national anti-terrorism prosecutor's office. That matters: in France it is the prosecutors, not politicians, who decide whether a crime is treated as terrorism. On the evening of the attack, Emmanuel Macron spoke in Trappes of a "turning point" after an "attack" committed "on the basis of a racist ideology". In French debate, the word attentat has mostly been used for jihadist attacks, so the president using it about a far-right shooting is significant.
The victim, Pengo Bossio Wangi, trained at an MMA club in Aubervilliers, and the club's founder organised the gathering held on Sunday, 25 October. It was a marche blanche, or "white march": a silent walk of mourning, a tradition France took from Belgium in the 1990s. Several hundred people gathered to pay tribute to him in Aubervilliers, in Seine-Saint-Denis. A clubmate said they had come "to honour his memory", leaving political messages aside. Politics followed anyway. Saint-Denis mayor Bally Bagayoko accused Emmanuel Macron of not having "done enough" against the rise of the far right.
Le Pen and Bardella in Orléans
By chance, the shooting came the day before the National Rally (RN) opened its party congress in Orléans. On Saturday, 24 October, Jordan Bardella was re-elected as party leader after a long morning of protest that drew 13,000 people peacefully according to the authorities, 26,000 according to the organisers. He was the only candidate and won 98.98% of the vote.
On Sunday, 25 October, the congress turned into a campaign rally. Marine Le Pen promised a "national unity", "pluralist" government led by Jordan Bardella. This is the RN's two-person strategy: Le Pen gives the party a familiar face, and Bardella is offered as the man who would run the government. In the arena, activists from the Union of Jewish Students of France protested against antisemitic remarks attributed to the RN president by Mediapart. Outside, about a hundred anti-fascist activists gathered in Orléans despite the bans, some four kilometres from the Co'Met arena.
Why it all connects
The cost-of-living protests started in high schools. By early October they were already a hot topic in the campaign to replace Emmanuel Macron, who is constitutionally barred from a third consecutive term. The background is a fiscal crisis that threatens to turn into a debt crisis as government borrowing costs rise to the highest level in decades, along with a divided parliament with no majority. That leaves three forces competing to define the moment: unions talking about wages, a government talking about public order, and a far right presenting itself as the alternative. Trappes added a fourth factor, fear of political violence.
What remains in place
In Paris, the curfew at République and Les Halles runs from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m., in force since 24 October and announced until 27 October. The PSG–Lyon match was moved to Monday because of the protests, meaning 26 October. The Yellow Vests have announced a new day of mobilisation on 31 October. The union strike on Thursday, 5 November, is still the date that matters most.
Sources