More than 2,400 people have been arrested in France following days of violent protests that have seen buildings set on fire and shops looted, prompting the government to order partial curfews in some urban areas.
The unrest began in September with student demonstrations against education cuts, but has since escalated as trade unions organised nationwide protests over the cost of living. Over the weekend, violence and vandalism spread across the country, with tear gas deployed in Paris as protesters gathered at the Place de la République.
Government Response and Arrests
French President Emmanuel Macron has criticised "unbridled violence," saying that "nothing justifies" the violence seen this week. He drew a distinction between genuine, peaceful demonstrators making demands over the cost of living and the education system, and others who "destroy, ransack and loot."
Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu has promised a "strong" response from the judiciary and has asked prefects to implement "a number of partial curfews" in certain "localised" urban areas to prevent further disorder. The Interior Ministry reported about 2,400 arrests and about 1,000 police officers injured, seven seriously, during demonstrations on Saturday, October 17.
Damage and Injuries
Startling images from Limoges, a smaller city in central France, show the City Hall collapsing in flames after a group branded "radical troublemakers" broke in. At the time, elected officials, employees, security personnel and members of the public were inside, according to Haute-Vienne prefect Maurice Barate.
More than 2,000 businesses were directly impacted by the weekend's protests, according to the head of France's Chambers of Commerce and Industry (CCI). The BBC reported that looting and clashes continued on a smaller scale in Paris and Lyon on Sunday, following demonstrations that were mostly peaceful and attended by about 550,000 people.
Earlier student protests were met with unprecedented levels of police repression, with lawyers stating that students arrested at barricades had been beaten. A 16-year-old lost the use of his right eye in injuries consistent with a Flash-Ball projectile, and a 15-year-old lost his left hand when a grenade exploded near his school.
International Reactions
EU internal affairs spokesperson Markus Lammert said: "The right to peaceful protest is a fundamental right in all democratic countries and must be protected. Those who demonstrate peacefully must not be conflated with those who commit violence. Arson, looting and attacks on people or public buildings are unacceptable." He added that the EU supports French authorities' efforts to protect people and property, noting that investigations are ongoing at national level.
US President Donald Trump blamed the disorder on "the immigration of people from an entirely different world, people with hatred in their hearts," and urged France to close its borders. Further protests have also been sparked in Italian cities due to fuel and food shortages in some southern areas.
