French President Emmanuel Macron delivered a televised speech on Sunday (October 18) night, criticizing the arson, looting and other acts that occurred during the anti-government demonstrations, which made people feel "anger and shame".
Macron said: 'Looking at these images, we all have to ask ourselves: What are they thinking? Why would the French do this to France? ’ He attributed the violence to ‘rioters from radical far-left groups, as well as criminals’, and ‘those who looted must be held accountable for their losses, and those who seek to overthrow this republic will also be held accountable’.
"This country needs order and peace, not any further escalation of conflict," Macron said.
On Saturday (17th), about 500,000 people took to the streets across France to demonstrate. This is one of the largest demonstrations in France in recent years, bringing together struggles from many different groups, including student movements that have been fighting for improved school conditions since last month, as well as public demonstrations dissatisfied with rising fuel and commodity prices, rising living costs, and deteriorating public services, as well as trade unionists.
Some media also compared this demonstration with the "yellow vest" movement in 2018. However, representatives of the Yellow Vest movement, Jérôme Rodrigues, François Boulo and others, said that although some of the demands of this protest were similar to those of the Yellow Vests, the organizers at the time were not involved in coordinating or planning the protest.
Rodriguez said: 'Now every time someone talks about gas prices and public grievances, they are immediately labeled as a 'yellow vest'. It's almost become a brand. ’
Ahead of French election, various camps blame each other
This wave of protests reflects the growing public dissatisfaction under Macron’s administration. As the French presidential election approaches in April next year, Macron, who has been in power for ten years, is about to step down. He said that the dissatisfaction of the majority of peaceful demonstrators has its own origin and cannot be confused with the small number of people who try to create chaos.
Some right-wing politicians have argued that a national state of emergency should be declared, but Macron has not yet done so. Earlier, he convened an emergency meeting of officials and ordered governors and mayors to discuss countermeasures to protect public buildings and shops from riots, and did not rule out banning public protests if necessary.
Marine Le Pen, leader of the far-right National Rally (National Rally), currently leading the general election polls, said this wave of demonstrations showed that Macron's government was "burned, exhausted and lost its direction." Le Pen also directly named the far-left party France Unbowed (LFI) for provoking and fueling the riots.
Faced with the above-mentioned doubts, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the leader of "Unyielding France", denied it. He stressed that his message was clear: 'Those who fight alongside us should not engage in looting or sabotage. ’
Mélenchon participated in demonstrations in Paris on the 17th. He asked Macron to respond to the demands of students and people, and criticized Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu for being "incompetent" in public finance and budgeting and should be responsible for this chaos. He quipped: 'By worsening society, you managed to unite all the youth and labor unions. ’
As the demonstrations in France made the front page of international news, US President Trump posted a message on the social platform, advocating that France should strengthen border control as soon as possible: 'France is on fire! People from completely different worlds immigrated with hate in their hearts and destroyed this once great country. ’ However, the French government itself did not blame immigrants for the violence during this demonstration.
Peaceful demonstrations turned into violent clashes
During the demonstrations on the 17th, although most people rallied peacefully, some radical groups and masked demonstrators clashed with the police in many cities and attacked public facilities. The more than 140-year-old city hall of Limoges, a city in central France, was burned down by arson; the city hall of Marseille was broken into by demonstrators and graffitied anarchist slogans; and the Lyon tourism office was also damaged by arson. In addition, boutiques and supermarkets were looted, and police cars were burned in many places.
In Paris, violent riots shocked outsiders. Tije De Boer, an entrepreneur from the Netherlands, described it: ‘It’s like a war zone here! ’ He and his children had to evacuate the hotel because of the demonstration.
On Sunday, hundreds of demonstrators still gathered in the Place de la République in Paris under heavy police presence. There were sporadic clashes between police and citizens. For example, a small group tried to burn bicycles and trash cans, and the police fired tear gas.
After the riots, scenes of devastation were left everywhere. The streets of Paris, Marseille and Lyon were littered with rubbish, overturned bicycles and looted goods from shops, as cleaning crews continued to clear the streets since late at night. Limoges's burned city hall is a protected historical building. Local officials said that after emergency rescue, the second half of the building was saved.
French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez wrote on the X platform on Sunday: 'The right to protest is a basic right, but the deliberate collective use of violence to create unrest is not. ’
About 2,400 people were arrested across France, and nearly 1,000 police and firefighters were injured in the clashes. Paris police also said one demonstrator died of a heart attack.
