Serious riots during mass protests in France

A nationwide day of protest against the high cost of living saw serious riots, looting and numerous arrests in France. As the Interior Ministry announced, several uncontrolled demonstrations in Paris tried to move towards state authorities. The law enforcement officers intervened systematically to prevent these movements and secure the institutional locations.

By the evening, around 400 people had been arrested across the country and 60 police officers had been injured. According to media reports, there were also injuries among the demonstrators. In Saint-Étienne, a 17-year-old had his hand torn off by a grenade fired by police, the newspaper Le Figaro reported. In Nancy, eastern France, three people were injured by a stun grenade fired by emergency services, wrote the newspaper L'Est Républicain.

Paris Mayor Emmanuel Grégoire expressed concern on BFMTV because looters were still on the move in parts of the capital.

More than 500,000 demo participants nationwide

According to Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez, 550,000 people took part in the protests and demonstrations across the country, including 110,000 in Paris. There were hundreds of local protests and numerous demonstrations in the capital and other cities.

Thousands of people demonstrated loudly and angry, but peacefully. For example, they called for investments in education and health, affordable housing, but also more climate protection.

They included Élodie and Bérénice, two nurses who demonstrated in Paris wearing the yellow vests of the gilets jaunes, the yellow vest movement. "Ten years of Macron and there is chaos everywhere! Things are getting worse every day in the hospital, we can't take it anymore," said Bérénice. "We are not here for violence," explained Élodie, "but to fight for our rights, just like the young people."

Strong mobilization of the ultra-left scene

However, there was violence in many places. In Marseille, demonstrators tried to break into a police station, gained access to the town hall and looted shops, according to the Interior Ministry. In Lyon, the tourist information office was set on fire and there was damage to shops. According to the ministry, the fire department was prevented from intervening.

In the central French city of Limoges, firefighters fought a fire set by rioters in the evening that largely destroyed the large, historic town hall.

In Avignon, rioters broke into the inner courtyard of the prefecture and in Grenoble there was damage to the town hall. According to the Paris police prefecture, around 100 people were arrested in the capital for carrying weapons and other prohibited items.

According to the Interior Ministry, there was a very strong mobilization of the ultra-left scene during the protests. This is solely intended to cause unrest. There were targeted, violent attacks by masked people who formed “black blocs,” particularly in Paris, Marseille, Rennes, Toulouse and Angers. According to the ministry, there were also targeted attacks on the media. Around 100 masked people blocked access to the right-wing TV channel CNews in Paris, media reported.

Macron announces consequences

French President Emmanuel Macron has threatened those responsible for the serious riots with consequences. “There is no place for violence in our republic,” said Macron in the evening. "Those who destroyed and attacked both prefectures and businesses, and even looted our town halls, will be prosecuted and punished."

He assured the law enforcement officers who guaranteed the right to demonstrate the nation's support, Macron wrote on

The government met for an emergency meeting in the evening. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu also previously condemned the riots: "To those who obviously want to use these acts of violence as a 'warm-up round' before the presidential elections, I say very clearly: we will not allow ourselves to be intimidated." Nobody will implement their political agenda with violence, said Lecornu.

The call for protest cannot be clearly assigned to any organization

The day of protest, which had been announced for some time, was joined by various groups, including schoolchildren and students who have been demonstrating for better learning conditions for weeks. The call for protest, which cannot be clearly assigned to any organization and was spread via social media, was also about high fuel prices, low wages, the large number of low-wage workers and problems in agriculture and the fire department.

There was also a call on the Internet with an unclear originator for a new edition of the so-called yellow vest movement. The government's concern is that the demonstrations will actually become a spark for such broader protests. The yellow vest protest, so called because many of those involved wore yellow high-visibility vests, kept France in suspense for a long time in 2019 and spread as if out of nowhere.

The trigger at the time was a planned increase in taxes on fuel. This quickly gave rise to a broader movement against the high cost of living and social injustice, which severely affected President Macron during his first term in office.

With information from Carolin Dylla, ARD Paris.