France Tallies 1,314 Arrests as Le Pen Opens Campaign; Serbia Votes
Sunday, October 25, 2026
Vote Watch • Rio Dell Times • as of 1:07 p.m. PT
Video updated Sunday, October 25, 2026
2:35 • no narration • every clip credited on screen • French clips carry our English subtitles
President Trump
At a campaign rally in Perry, Ga., on Saturday, President Trump said: “They have good police in France, but they’re not allowed to do their job. So France is right now burning down because it opens its borders to people who hate it. These are people who hate it. They hate France” (RSBN video; Hindustan Times; Fox News video).
On Fox News, Louis Sarkozy, son of former French President Nicolas Sarkozy, said France needs “a little more repression, limit public transport, do curfews, give mayors the possibility to mobilize their own police forces, and let police officers do their jobs” (Fox News).
France
Saturday’s tally. The Interior Ministry’s provisional count Sunday morning: 1,314 arrests, 53 police officers and gendarmes hurt, 24 shops looted and 75 fire calls across 289 actions, compared with 2,628 arrests, 1,144 officers hurt and 1,522 shops looted on Oct. 17. The ministry counted 410,000 marchers, including 110,000 in Paris; the CGT union said about 800,000. About 70,000 police and gendarmes were deployed, and the ministry said the night was “calm” (Le Monde; AFP via France 24; BFMTV). Saturday evening, Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez had reported “almost 1,000 arrests” (BFMTV video).
Le Pen opens her campaign. At the National Rally congress in Orléans on Sunday, under heavy police protection, Marine Le Pen called for a “Renaissance for France,” promised to restore “a double border, French and European,” and “zero tolerance,” and named Jordan Bardella as her choice for prime minister. Bardella, the party’s president, told the congress that far-left groups backed by parties in Parliament “tried to intimidate” supporters and stop it from being held (BFMTV; Europe 1; LCI video; AFP video).
Grenoble bus. Around 5 a.m. Sunday, about 10 hooded people with iron bars smashed every window of a bus carrying 11 RN supporters and two drivers to Orléans. No one was hurt; prosecutors opened an investigation (France 3; franceinfo).
Montpellier. Mayor Michaël Delafosse reported a “far-right militia” of 15 to 20 men, who clashed with marchers Saturday, to the prosecutor; the prefecture also referred the case (France 3; actu.fr).
Serbia votes
Polls closed at 8 p.m. local time (noon PT). The monitor CRTA estimated turnout at 67.8% by 7 p.m. (±0.9), against 55.5% at the same hour in 2023; Ipsos and CeSID estimated 67.6% by 7 p.m.; the electoral commission (RIK) reported 64.89% by 6 p.m. (CRTA; Politika; Serbian Monitor). CRTA said turnout was expected to rise another 3 to 4 points in the final hour. Projections of the results from CRTA and from Ipsos/CeSID were due from about 9:30 p.m. local (1:30 p.m. PT); none had been published as of this update.
In its 8:35 p.m. local report, CRTA said observers saw ballots being photographed at 48% of polling stations (79% in Belgrade, 58% in Vojvodina), UV lamps not used at 30% and voting without valid ID at 8%, and reported more violent incidents outside polling stations in Belgrade, Pančevo, Vranje and Novi Sad. Earlier, it recorded pressure on voters, polling-board members or observers at 29% of stations by 4 p.m. (CRTA; CRTA; bne IntelliNews). Riot police and fencing were posted around the electoral commission in Belgrade (Balkan Insight video; Reuters video; BBC).
Italy, Barcelona, Brussels (Saturday)
Italy. Protesters forced their way into Rome’s Colosseum; the Culture Ministry said there was no damage and no one was hurt. Nationwide, police reported 9 arrests, 87 people charged, 371 taken in and 4,292 identified (ANSA; Culture Ministry via Opinione; ANSA video). Inside-the-arena footage from @RadioGenoa is labeled unverified (post).
Barcelona. City Hall said about 100 people were arrested, a quarter of them minors, after 14 shops were looted (Barcelona City Hall; Europa Press video).
Brussels. About 400 people marched; police made 9 arrests (Brussels Times/Belga).
