France witnessed one of the worst waves of unrest in years, as thousands of people were arrested and stores were looted and vandalized during protests sparked by demands by students and schoolchildren to improve study conditions, and then spread to protests against rising prices and a decline in the level of public services.
Earlier today, Monday (October 19, 2026), the Marseille authorities imposed a ban on public gatherings or demonstrations throughout the city following violent protests and looting that culminated last Saturday.
The violence sparked a campaign of condemnation in Europe, with Germany stressing that “there is no place for violence” in the streets, while Britain said that “although the right to protest represents the essence of democracy, this can in no way justify violence.”
“Ignoring the dialogue exacerbated the crisis.”
In its comment, the London newspaper The Independent said: “There is no dispute about the need for perpetrators of violence to bear the consequences of their actions, but it is also true that the government had an opportunity to speak with representatives of the protesters.”
She added that what began as a demonstration organized by students of a high school in the Paris suburb of Creteil to protest the shortage of teachers, turned into widespread street protests in which more than half a million people participated.
Unions, school students, and activists from the "yellow vest" movement, which emerged during President Emmanuel Macron's first term, united to express their anger.
Some of the demonstrations took on a violent nature, as the city of Limoges witnessed the burning of its nineteenth-century municipal building, a fire that the governor of the region, Maurice Barrat, described, in a television statement, as being caused by a “rambunctious crowd.”
How did the wave of violence break out?
As for Germany, the largest economy in the European Union, its government announced that it does not fear that the protests taking place in France will lead to a wave of protests extending throughout Europe and Germany.
On the media level, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper shed light on the unrest and demonstrations sweeping France, the second largest economy in the Eurozone, in a report entitled: “How did the wave of violence break out in France?”
She added that after the riots that took place in France, political forces are struggling over how to deal with the state of chaos, noting that several neighborhoods in Paris have become “uncontrolled areas” after the violence spread to other cities, including Marseille, Lyon, Lille, Bordeaux, and Nice.
She added that calls to storm what were called "centers of power" had been spread across social media by groups based on the "yellow vest" movement.
The newspaper quoted Benjamin Pal, one of the organizers of the protests, as saying: “I am being asked to condemn violence, riots and barricades, but I do not condemn this anger, but rather I welcome it.”
High prices fuel the protests
The rise in prices has fueled a state of anger in France, as diesel prices have jumped by about 40 percent, and gasoline prices by 25 percent since March, and food prices have risen by 25 percent since 2021.
The unrest erupted months before pivotal presidential elections, in which President Emmanuel Macron will not be able to run for a new term, while Marine Le Pen, the far-right candidate for the National Rally party, enjoys a strong lead in the opinion polls.
The rise of radical tendencies
The Spanish newspaper "El Mundo" saw that France "is facing a worrying rise in intellectual radical tendencies, as anti-police chants and attacks on centers of power express clear hostility to the democratic state." She added that what "began as a student protest against deteriorating living conditions, turned into scenes resembling a gang war, including organized looting and destruction of public buildings."
It is noteworthy that Spain witnessed an event that sparked nationwide protests in light of the sharp rise in housing costs. Hundreds of tents have been set up in Madrid's central Puerta del Sol square since September, following the eviction of an 87-year-old woman from the rented apartment where she had lived most of her life.
The protests did not stop in France and Spain, but rather spread to other European countries, where anger over rising prices turned into widespread protests.
In Italy, the authorities said that the police arrested 271 young people during unrest in the city of Milan on Sunday, after a second day of protests against the deterioration of public services and the high cost of living.
Feeling of inequality
In this context, Bloomberg said that the violence in France has raised a state of anxiety throughout Europe, as at least six countries are preparing to hold elections next year.
She added that although France has a long history of popular demonstrations and protests, the scale of attacks on public buildings, stores and restaurants has raised fears that similar scenes will be repeated.
Bloomberg quoted Bernard Sananis, head of the Elab Institute, which specializes in opinion polls, as saying that there is “a common denominator among these European countries, which is the inability of public policies to address the growing sense of social inequality.”
