On Sunday morning, the inhabitants of Limoges looked in disbelief at the ruins of their town hall. The Neo-Renaissance building, the pride of the city and a witness to its history since 1883, was set on fire by a masked mob during the most serious riots to hit France in years.
What country do we live in? What will we leave to our children? – Francoise Faurie wondered during a conversation with the media. The woman revealed that she was supposed to celebrate her granddaughter's baptism at the town hall next month. She explained that, in her opinion, nothing justified the attack on the historic building.
"You can have demands, everyone has the right to protest, but there is no right to violence," she said.
Among the inhabitants of Limoges, located in the central part of the country, there are more people outraged by the events of Saturday. Let us recall that protests against the rising cost of living turned into riots. Hundreds of thousands of people appeared on the streets all over the country. More than 500 policemen, gendarmes and firefighters were injured, and material losses in many cities are significant.
Maurice Barate, the local prefect, reported that the roof of the town hall collapsed onto the lower floors, and only the west wing survived. Large sections of the decorative façade were completely destroyed. The prefect did not hide his regret, calling the destruction of the building a "heritage disaster". The town hall, inspired by the Hotel de Ville in Paris, was not only the seat of government, but also a symbol of local identity and pride of the inhabitants. The clock tower and bell tower, which towered 43 meters above the square, were a landmark for entire generations. Now only ashes remain.
The city's mayor, Guillaume Guerin, does not hide his disappointment after Saturday night's violence. The local police were quickly overwhelmed by a crowd of several hundred people who broke windows and used a battering ram to force the main door of the town hall. The logistics, organization and premeditation behind yesterday's attack on the city hall are something I cannot stand, the mayor told journalists.
Guerin admitted there was a lack of police force to protect the building as national police officers were deployed to cover other street protests. I didn't have a single national policeman to protect the city hall. This country is doing badly, this country is doing very badly, and this is what an ordinary provincial mayor is telling you, he emphasized.
The inhabitants of Limoges do not hide their outrage either. It is unacceptable that the town hall was burned down! The people who did this should be punished. They should pay out of their own pockets and not burden the state budget, said Gilbert, one of the residents, firmly.
Under blue skies, crowds gathered on the ruins as experts assessed the extent of the damage. Edith Lorcen, a retired nurse, did not hide her emotions: I am outraged. It hurts me. But there is no point in adding hate to hate.
"Chaos and bewilderment" - this is how "Le Monde" describes the impressions after Saturday's acts of violence. The daily pointed out that the wave of riots was "unprecedented six months before the presidential elections." This outbreak of violence - according to the daily - weakened the government of Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu. The daily compares Saturday's events to the riots during the "yellow vest" protests on December 1, 2018. He estimates that they demonstrate "the impotence of the state, which lost control on Saturday in the confrontation with the perpetrators of the riots - mobile, dispersed and determined."
After the riots, 1,800 people were arrested. Lecornu assessed that the police had to deal with "exceptionally aggressive environments of the extreme left" and stated that the perpetrators were targeting "institutions of the Republic".
