
FCD president Alexandre Bompard estimates the damage at several hundred million euros, while the government faces an unprecedented level of violence.
AI-generated summary
Violence and scenes of looting broke out on the sidelines of the demonstrations on Saturday October 17 in several cities in France.
The Federation of Commerce and Distribution has done the accounts. No less than 1,500 traders were “directly affected” by the violence that occurred in several cities across the country, on the sidelines of the demonstrations on Saturday October 17. Questioned on LCI, Sunday October 18, its president Alexandre Bompard estimates the damage bill at “several hundred million euros”. “To all affected traders”, “we are mobilized in Bercy to help you”, also affirmed on X the Minister of Commerce, Serge Papin. Follow our live stream.
• Some 1,800 people arrested throughout France, according to the Minister of the Interior. In a message on X, Laurent Nuñez also reported more than 500 police officers, gendarmes and firefighters injured. For his part, Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu convenes an interministerial crisis unit at 7 p.m. in Matignon.
• The President of the National Assembly will propose a parliamentary commission of inquiry into the violence and the strategy for maintaining order. Contacted by franceinfo, Yaël Braun-Pivet's entourage announced that she "will bring together the group presidents on Tuesday morning".
• The IGPN opens an investigation after the complaint of a protester with a head injury in Paris. The investigation is open "into counts of violence by a person holding public authority". Videos taken near the Gare du Nord and posted on social networks show a man "injured in the head" and bleeding, writes the Paris prosecutor's office. He was treated and transported to Cochin hospital. He then presented himself at the end of the afternoon “at the 14th arrondissement police station to file a complaint”.
• “A level of violence that we have never seen,” laments the first deputy mayor of Paris. On franceinfo, Lamia El Araajee spoke of “methodical looting scenes” which plunged Paris into “total disrepair”.
• “The thugs are ruining a movement that is as powerful as it is joyful,” laments Olivier Faure. In an interview with Le Parisien, the boss of the PS deplored the violence which marred the processions on Saturday. The one who lost the Social Democratic primary, however, stressed the need to modify “the doctrine of maintaining order”. “It is de-escalation that must be sought, not confrontation which encourages a game of cat and mouse with thugs who use it to justify their actions,” he underlines.
AI outlook — possibilities, not facts
Meeting of the President of the National Assembly with the group presidents Tuesday morning
Very likely · Within days
More than 1,800 people were arrested in France the day after urban violence on an unprecedented scale occurred on the sidelines of the demonstrations against the high cost of living on October 17, leading to the fire at the Limoges town hall and major damage.

The police were "completely overwhelmed" by a level of violence "rarely experienced" during demonstrations, according to Rudy Manna, national delegate of Unsa-Police, who evokes a "convergence of barbarians".

Nearly a hundred Limougeauds gathered in front of the town hall after a fire ravaged part of the building, visibly in shock.

Around 1,800 people were arrested following violence on the sidelines of demonstrations in France. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu convened a crisis unit in Matignon, while the IGPN opened an investigation after the injury of a demonstrator in Paris.

The day after a mobilization punctuated by violence in Paris and the region, the Paris prosecutor's office announced 517 people in police custody. More than a thousand arrests took place across the country and at least 150 members of the police were injured.

Multiple shops and stores were looted and vandalized across France on Saturday afternoon during demonstrations against the high cost of living, leading to 1,200 arrests and drawing an indignant reaction from the government and employers' organizations.