The streets of France are on fire. Luxury stores were looted, news of loss of life came from Paris

In the statement made by the Paris police, it was announced that 855 people were detained in the capital and this number was a record, while Paris Deputy Mayor Lamia El Aaraje said that the city was shaken by an intensity of violence that they had never seen before.

Police sources announced that a person who fell ill during the demonstration in Paris was taken to the first aid center. The protester in question died while being brought in front of the centre.

According to the statement of the Paris Police Department, this person died as a result of cardiac and respiratory arrest.

HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF EUROS IN PROPERTY DAMAGE

Supermarkets, pharmacies, luxury stores, cosmetics shops and electronics stores were looted in Paris, Marseille, Nice, Nantes, Bordeaux, Limoges, Lille, Toulouse and Strasbourg.

It is reported that the number of workplaces looted in the action areas reached 1,500 and that there was material damage worth hundreds of millions of euros.

The 143-year-old town hall in the city of Limoges was also set on fire. The roof and clock tower of the historic town hall, which has been standing in the city since 1883, collapsed in a fire that broke out as a result of arson by masked groups.

"THIS COUNTRY IS IN A BAD CONDITION"

Limoges Mayor Guillaume Guerin stated in his statement today that the local police force quickly became inadequate against a crowd of several hundred people. Guerin said the group broke windows and used a battering ram to destroy the main gate. Mayor of Limoges: "The logistics, organization and pre-planning behind the attack on the city hall yesterday is intolerable for me." he said.

Arguing that there were not enough police officers to protect the building, Guillaume Guerin said, "I did not even have a single national police officer to protect the city hall. This country is in a bad state, very bad, and it is a small provincial mayor who tells you this." he said.

As the demonstrators in Bordeaux entered the Chamber of Commerce and Industry building, tension broke out between the security forces and the protesters. In Rennes, transportation was disrupted on some roads due to barricades set on fire by demonstrators.

According to official sources, the CGT union, which took part in the protests in which 550 thousand people participated, claimed that this figure was 800 thousand.

The Paris Police Department banned demonstrations at important points in the capital such as the Elysee Palace, the Prime Ministry building and the Champs-Elysees. Despite the ban, shop owners on the famous Champs-Elysees Avenue blocked their shop windows with billboards and security forces were deployed along the street.

While demonstrators were blocking the roads by removing paving stones in the capital, vehicles and garbage containers were set on fire, foreign exchange offices and stores were looted. In the statement made by the prosecutor's office in Paris, where 855 people were detained and 1 demonstrator died, it was stated that these people were detained on charges of participating in a group that mainly aims to cause violence or damage to property, possession of weapons and explosives, hiding their faces and committing acts of violence.

While French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu condemned these intense incidents of violence, he pointed out that it was time for the leftist Unyielding France (LFI) Party to choose whose side it was on and said, "You are either on the side of the republic and therefore the police forces that ensure public order, protect people and property, and enforce the law, or you are on the side of those who cause destruction." he said.

Lecornu also stated that the country has reached a point of no return.

MINISTER OF INTERIOR NUNEZ ANNOUNCED THE LATEST BALANCE SHEET

Minister of Internal Affairs Laurent Nunez, in his statement on his X account, announced that the number of people detained in the demonstrations exceeded 2 thousand; He stated that more than 600 police officers, gendarmerie soldiers and firefighters have been injured in the violence during the demonstrations so far, and pointed out that this number is not an exact number.

"Organizing a protest is a fundamental right, not sowing disorder in a violent and organized manner," Nunez said. he said.

Stating that nothing can justify attacking law enforcement officers, public institutions, damaging public buildings, entering the governorship and municipality buildings without permission, and looting shops, Nunez expressed his support for the police, gendarmerie soldiers and firefighters who sometimes worked in difficult conditions until late hours during yesterday's demonstrations.

Nunez argued that thousands of people belonging to the far left, who were determined to target public buildings and confront the police forces, were involved in violent incidents since noon yesterday, and then criminals who looted shops in many cities such as Paris, Marseille, Lyon, Bordeaux, Rennes, Strasbourg, Grenoble, Nice and Limoges joined these people.

Explaining that more than 2 thousand people have been detained so far within the scope of yesterday's protests, Nunez noted that investigations are being carried out to identify the perpetrators of the incidents in question and hold them accountable to justice.

Emphasizing that serious damage occurred in many shops, Nunez said, "The Republic will not make any concessions against those who try to impose disorder and violence." he said.