Newsletters
French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday condemned the “unbridled violence” that swept French cities during cost-of-living protests, as police clashed again with demonstrators and looters in Paris. He vowed to be “uncompromising” with those responsible but stopped short of declaring a state of emergency or curfew.
In an address to the nation, Macron said local authorities would be able to ban certain rallies in the coming days “if necessary.” The interior ministry said nearly 2,400 people were arrested Saturday in some of the worst urban unrest France has seen in years. Almost 1,000 police officers and gendarmes were injured, seven of them seriously.
“Tonight, we all feel anger and shame,” Macron said, pointing to town halls burned down and hundreds of businesses looted or damaged.
He asked how French people could do this to France, and insisted on a distinction between protesters with “legitimate demands” and those who “destroyed, smashed, and looted.”
He blamed “agitators from ultra-left fringe groups, joined by numerous delinquents” for the violence.
Top officials, he said, would coordinate with mayors to protect cities, public buildings and businesses, and affected businesses would receive support. He also promised “full transparency” over how security forces responded to the protests.
On Sunday, police fired tear gas and stun grenades at hundreds of people who gathered in a Paris square after social media calls for a rally that authorities said had not been approved, AFP journalists reported.
Protesters threw bottles and rocks at officers, who made 42 arrests, according to authorities. At least five stores were looted around Republique square.
Other shops in central Paris had their windows smashed, and the city hall told many of them to close. In the southeastern city of Lyon, police fought youths who tried to loot a luxury clothing store.
Saturday’s protests brought together unions, school students who had demonstrated for weeks, and the Yellow Vests movement, which emerged in 2018 over living costs and shook the early years of Macron’s presidency.
Together they voiced anger over the cost of living and prospects for young people.
In Limoges, a fire destroyed the city’s 19th-century town hall. Local prefect Maurice Barate told news channel LCI it had been deliberately set by “a wild horde.”
In Lyon, a tourist office in the city centre was set ablaze amid multiple clashes and looting.
Two teenagers were seriously hurt. A 17-year-old boy had his right hand blown off by a crowd-control grenade in the southern city of Saint-Etienne, and a 17-year-old girl lost an eye in Mulhouse, according to prosecutors.
“It’s like we had a war,” said Mehmet Ozeden, a 78-year-old Paris resident, standing among the burnt street barricades.
The unrest comes months before a presidential election in which Macron cannot stand again.
Marine Le Pen, the far-right National Rally candidate, is riding high in the polls. She said the violence showed Macron’s administration was “running on fumes, exhausted and disoriented.”
Jean-Luc Melenchon, head of the hard-left France Unbowed party and also a presidential candidate, warned that the country could be heading toward events that “will eventually become uncontrollable.”
Macron said France deserves “a fine presidential election” with debates held “with the parties, rather than in the streets with violence.”
Some opposition politicians have called for the dismissal of Interior Minister Laurent Nunez. Macron said he asked Nunez to “draw all necessary lessons,” particularly on intelligence gathering and anticipation, and expects “clear answers.”
US President Donald Trump also weighed in, blaming immigration in a social media post that began, “France is burning!”
Set as preferred source
Set as preferred source
1 min read
1 min read
