New clashes broke out in Paris this Sunday (18), a day after France experienced one of the worst days of unrest in recent years, with protests against high prices that left one protester dead, thousands of people arrested and stores looted or damaged across the country.
Demonstrations across the country turned into riots on Saturday, with a city hall torched, stores looted and buildings covered in graffiti, while violent groups clashed with police in cities across the country.
A protester died after suffering a cardiac arrest during protests in Paris. Police made more than 2,000 arrests across France, while more than 600 officers were injured, the interior minister said.
“It feels like a war zone here,” said Dutch businessman Tije De Boer, who had come to Paris with his children to visit a friend and said the protests forced him to leave his hotel in Place de la République, one of the most troubled spots on Saturday (17).
Police fired tear gas again at protesters in Place de la République and bicycles were set on fire on Sunday afternoon, a sign that tensions had not yet fully calmed in the capital.
More than half a million people took part in marches in dozens of cities on Saturday, marking the convergence of a month-long student movement with broader social discontent against the rising cost of living and declining public services.
President Emmanuel Macron will address the nation at 8pm local time on Sunday, his office said.
Saturday's riots revealed deep anger against Macron, who will step down in 2027 after a decade in power increasingly marked by social discontent, a weak economy and galloping debt.
The government blamed the violence on far-left and ultra-left groups, as well as criminals who the government said instigated the looting.
French far-right leader Jordan Bardella said France had been “humiliated” and called on Macron to resign.
“We are paying for decades of negligence, loss of authority and the moral, psychological and material disarmament of our internal security forces,” he said during a visit to a police station in Paris.
Damaged stores
While hundreds of thousands protested peacefully, violent fringe groups attacked public buildings, looted luxury boutiques and supermarkets, and attacked vehicles and police.
A massive clean-up operation began in cities ranging from Lille in the north to Marseille in the south, and from Strasbourg in the east to Bordeaux in the southwest, where a masked mob broke into the residence of the local mayor.
Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said several hundred stores were damaged on Saturday.
In Limoges, southwestern France, Mayor Guillaume Guerin denounced chaos after the city's 143-year-old town hall was set on fire and largely destroyed in an arson attack on Saturday, drawing comparisons to the 2019 fire that devastated Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris.
“There was a clear and premeditated intention to burn down the town hall, and the people inside feared for their lives,” Guerin told Reuters. He threatened to resign if the city did not receive the resources needed to repair city hall.
Elections
The unrest has increased pressure on President Macron and his government ahead of a presidential election scheduled for next year. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu blamed the riots on the “extreme left” and criminals.
Economy Minister Roland Lescure promised support on Sunday to businesspeople who suffered losses. “Those who destroy things will pay, repair the damage and be held accountable for their intention to sow chaos,” Lescure said in a statement.
Bordeaux Mayor Thomas Cazenave said up to 100 shops had been looted in his city, while Marseille Mayor Benoit Payan announced emergency financial aid to support businesses affected by the violence.
The chief executive of French retail chain Carrefour, Alexandre Bompard, told French broadcaster BFMTV that 50 of the company's stores were damaged, including 20 that were looted, with losses resulting from the damage reaching tens of millions of euros.
Protests began last month over school conditions and teacher shortages in working-class suburbs, before turning into a movement against inequality, cuts to public spending and the rising cost of living.
*Additional reporting by Natasa Bansagi, Janis Laizans, Abdul Saboor and Clotaire Achi
