The day after the mobilization of Saturday October 17, France woke up with a hangover. The town hall of Limoges (Haute-Vienne) was set on fire, demonstrators forced the doors of the town halls of Marseille and Lille, businesses were looted, ransacked, even burned, particularly in Paris... Of rare intensity, these scenes of chaos ended up eclipsing the demands of the hundreds of thousands of demonstrators mobilized against "the high cost of living". There remains a burning question, on which political leaders have continued to pass the buck for almost twenty-four hours: who is responsible?
The Prime Minister pointed out on Saturday the responsibility of La France insoumise. During a nighttime visit to police officers in the capital, Sébastien Lecornu declared that it was "now the time to choose sides", addressing La France insoumise. “Either we are in the camp of the Republic and therefore of the forces of law and order, of those who protect property and people and who apply the laws, or we are on the side of the thugs,” continued the head of government, who has several times denounced the violent “ultra-left”. In the aftermath of this violence and massive looting, Emmanuel Macron “will solemnly address the French at 8 p.m.” on Sunday, the Elysée announced.
"At midnight, all Lecornu can say is: 'It's LFI's fault,' replied Jean-Luc Mélenchon, rebellious presidential candidate, on
This virulent skirmish began earlier on Saturday. Jean-Luc Mélenchon denounced, still on X, an “aberrant command in Paris” which “opened the door to chaos”. To which Sébastien Lecornu responded on the same platform: “Making the police chiefs responsible for the violence is a dangerous and cynical inversion of responsibilities.” “We cannot call for an end to violence while providing excuses for those who commit it. It's YOUR political responsibility", added the tenant of Matignon, who has accused, since the start of the high school mobilization in mid-September, LFI of stoking anger.
But for Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the Prime Minister "played with fire, counting on the rot" of the social crisis and youth. The government is "mainly responsible for what is happening", rebellious MP Eric Coquerel added on Sunday on franceinfo. And to insist: “Our camp is very clearly on the side of those who mobilized” Saturday in the processions.
On the left, La France insoumise is not the only group to question the law enforcement strategy adopted on Saturday. The boss of the Ecologists, Marine Tondelier, present in the Parisian procession, called on the government to "review" its strategy which, in her eyes, endangers "protesters and police". Sunday morning, in a press release, she called for the resignation of the Minister of the Interior. “Incapable of providing an adequate system guaranteeing the safety of people and property, Laurent Nuñez is clearly overwhelmed by the situation, the scale of which he clearly underestimated.”
“The doctrine of maintaining order must be profoundly modified,” commented the boss of the PS, Olivier Faure, in an interview with Le Parisien. “The urban guerrillas, the looting, the throwing of projectiles from rooftops, the ransacking of public buildings are a shame. They endanger demonstrators and passers-by and stifle the legitimate demands of young people. Police violence never justifies the strategy of chaos,” he also wrote on X.
“Sacking town halls, attacking all symbols of the State and public services, burning fire trucks, looting and burning businesses is unjustifiable and unacceptable. The Republic cannot give in", said Raphaël Glucksmann, candidate of the social democratic left for the presidential election, on the same social network. "It is urgent that calm returns, that the Republic regains the upper hand and that France escapes this spiral of violence which will eventually engulf us all. What our country needs is a great republican revival,” he continues.
Like Sébastien Lecornu, the National Rally targeted LFI. “Legitimate social demands have once again been taken hostage by the far left and the speeches of Jean-Luc Mélenchon's deputies who (...) seek to throw the country into chaos,” criticized Marine Le Pen, the RN presidential candidate, on X. But she also condemned "the toxic Macronist policies", denouncing a country caught between "the fiscal bludgeoning of power and the activists of the insurrection".
The far-right party has in fact not spared the executive. On “The government was very clearly failing,” National Rally spokesperson Laurent Jacobelli said on Franceinfo on Sunday.
The president of the RN, Jordan Bardella, castigated “the professionals of chaos”. “October 17 was the pretext for the convergence of ultra-left terrorism and delinquent suburban populations,” he wrote in a second publication. “From May 2027, if the silent majority of French people decide, we will permanently restore order,” promised Jordan Bardella, looking ahead to the presidential election.
Eric Ciotti, ally of the Lepéniste party, denounced “red fascism” in the street. "The time is no longer for appeasement. The State must restore order. Repress, judge quickly and punish harshly", also criticized on “France belongs neither to these hordes of thugs, nor to this alliance of the extreme left and the scum who loot stores, attack police officers and burn town halls.”
To talk about October 17, the two presidential candidates from Macronism speak in unison. "The scenes of chaos are a provocation towards the authority of the State. Nothing can justify these actions", lamented Gabriel Attal (Renaissance) on
For Bruno Retailleau, former Minister of the Interior and right-wing presidential candidate, the police faced "unlimited savagery whose sole objective is to injure or kill police officers or gendarmes". “Faced with this, the implacable force of the State is the only possible response,” he added on X.
The one who is currently at the head of Beauvau, Laurent Nuñez, regretted “the ambiguous words” of certain political leaders. Sunday on According to the minister, 1,800 people were arrested and 500 members of the police injured.
