Evening Brief, Sunday 18 October

Sébastien Lecornu said late on Saturday that police had arrested more than 1,200 people, a sharp rise from at least 400 detentions reported earlier in the day. The Interior Ministry put turnout at about 550,000 people, including 110,000 in Paris, while organisers counted around 800,000 nationwide. Lecornu said 150 police officers were injured and blamed a highly organised far-left group for attacks on property, people and state institutions.

The worst damage struck Limoges, where protesters set fire to the 19th-century town hall. Prefect Maurice Barate said the roof collapsed over the lower floors except the west wing, two-thirds of the façade had gone and the heritage loss was a catastrophe. Mayor Guillaume Guérin said the clock tower had fallen and the wedding room and registry office had been destroyed. In Marseille, protesters broke into the town hall, and Benoît Payan complained that the city lacked enough police.

Emmanuel Macron promised prosecutions, while Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin told prosecutors to seek pre-trial detention for those accused of attacking police, firefighters or public buildings. Broadcaster TF1-LCI counted 270 looting incidents nationwide, and a separate account said more than 20 shops were looted or partly destroyed on boulevard Magenta in Paris.

Donald Trump gave Benjamin Netanyahu his full and total support on Sunday, nine days before Israel's 27 October parliamentary election. The post on Truth Social addressed Israeli voters directly and cast Netanyahu as Washington's preferred partner against Iran. Trump warned that if Israel chose another leader, the United States would have to handle the Iran problem alone, adding that he was not inclined to do so.

The endorsement reversed months of public caution. Trump and Netanyahu launched a joint military operation against Iran on 28 February, but later split over the pace of American strikes, diplomacy with Tehran, Gaza and Lebanon. Netanyahu's strikes on Lebanese territory and in the Gaza Strip angered Trump and weakened Washington-led peace efforts, according to the accounts gathered in the source material. The two leaders last met at the White House in the summer and did not meet during Netanyahu's September trip to New York for the UN General Assembly.

Netanyahu enters the vote from a weak position. Likud trails in several polls against Yashar, led by former chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot, and against the Together alliance formed by Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid. A government needs 61 of the Knesset's 120 seats, and most polls show Netanyahu's coalition short of that mark. Netanyahu also remains on trial in a corruption case, and Trump has previously asked for a pardon for him.

Edi Rama refused to resign as protests in Tirana reached a sixth consecutive day on Sunday. Students have led rallies since 13 October over poor university conditions, high tuition fees, corruption and a lack of jobs. Hundreds, with some reports saying thousands, gathered outside the Ministry of Education and chanted for Rama to quit. Police used water cannon, tear gas and rubber bullets, and several protesters were detained.

Protesters smashed windows at the Socialist Party headquarters with stones and crowbars, and police pushed the crowd back with water cannon. Shops and institutions in central Tirana put metal grilles over doors and windows before the Sunday protest. Municipal workers removed paving stones near Rama's office so demonstrators could not throw them at officers.

Rama, who has governed since 2013 and won a fourth term in 2025, used a Facebook broadcast to frame the unrest around Albania's EU path. He blamed an unidentified foreign hand and referred to an alleged drone attack on his office in the week of 12 October. He said he was ready to hear students' justified demands and discuss education costs, but insisted that those responsible for damage must face accountability.

Saturday was the most violent day so far. Police said they held 54 people in Tirana, with 27 detained and 27 facing criminal proceedings, and a police statement said 388 people had been charged over offences committed during the protests. A Health Ministry report counted 65 injured people on Sunday morning, including 37 police officers, and said 272 people had been injured since 13 October.

Canadian officials said a serious incident at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright in Alberta caused a large fire and left people dead and injured on Saturday. Defence Minister David McGuinty said the situation was active and delicate, and he gave no casualty figures or cause. Prime Minister Mark Carney had earlier posted that a large fire had affected the base, one of Canada's busiest military training sites.

The Municipal District of Wainwright said the fire crossed the base fence and spread rapidly because of high winds. Firefighters from several jurisdictions responded, and no evacuation order was in effect at that point. Wainwright supplied hospital and firefighting support, while federal, provincial and local authorities coordinated the response. A physician at an Edmonton hospital said health facilities in Wainwright were overwhelmed by the number of patients needing care.

The defence ministry said on Sunday that nothing so far indicated the fire was a terrorist act, while officials continued to assess the scale of the consequences. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith called it a significant and tragic fire affecting military personnel. Opposition leader Pierre Poilievre said he had spoken with Carney and McGuinty to offer support and urged people nearby to follow emergency instructions and keep roads clear for first responders. Officials said more information would follow once findings were confirmed.

At least 19 people died and 25 were injured in a stampede at a Durga Puja pandal in Kolkata on the evening of 17 October. Police said the crush began at about 19:40 at an exit of the Sarada Park puja pandal, under Girish Park police station. Earlier accounts put the dead at 18, including 13 women and a minor, and said eight injured people were in critical condition.

Indian media reported that sudden rain drove people to shelter under the pavilion, crowding entrances and exits. Other reports said a loudspeaker announcement warning of a possible structural collapse set off panic, and West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari described that announcement as misleading. Witnesses said entrances and exits were too narrow for the crowd and that many people lost consciousness in the crush.

Police detained organisers and security staff, though outlets differed on who was held. One report put the number detained at 12, including organisers, volunteers and security personnel, while another said police also detained on-duty officers. Police obtained CCTV footage from the pandal and were identifying those responsible for crowd control. Reports said a Calcutta High Court judge would oversee the inquiry, and one survivor said no police or volunteers were present for about half an hour after the crush began.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced payments of 200,000 rupees for families of the dead and 50,000 rupees for the injured. Separately, BBC Hindi reported that Adhikari announced 2.5 million rupees for each family of the dead, one job per family and 500,000 rupees for each injured person. Durga Puja in West Bengal runs from 16 to 21 October.

Ukraine apologised after an unidentified object entered Lithuanian airspace on Sunday morning and triggered a red air alarm across the centre and north of the country. Residents were told to shelter for about an hour, and NATO fighter jets took off, including two Italian Eurofighters under NATO command. The object disappeared from radar, and possible wreckage was later found near Juodzionys. Debris hit a civilian car and damaged its door, but nobody was hurt (13. no actual? wait UUID)