France is reeling from a wave of unrest that saw 1,800 people arrested on Saturday as demonstrations over inflation, rising fuel prices, and struggling public services turned into widespread riots. While approximately 550,000 people took to the streets for largely peaceful protests, clashes broke out in major cities including Paris, Marseille, and Lille. A vandalised shopfront in Paris in the aftermath of protests. Some dressed in black and wearing masks and balaclavas, also came out in Paris, Marseille and other towns and cities, with some setting fire to cars and buildings, groups of rioters. Some groups lit fires in the street and torched vehicles, during the day. Rubbish trucks worked their way down some of the larger streets to clear some of the debris. CCTV footage shown on France’s Channel 2 shows groups of teenagers, mostly wearing masks, in a shop selling mobile phones helping themselves to items from the shelves. Student protests in France have seen hundreds of thousands take to the streets since they began late last month. Criticising the lack of teachers and staff, overcrowded classrooms and run-down buildings, protesters have been demanding additional investment in their schools.
In the capital, protesters faced off against riot police who deployed tear gas and water cannons to disperse crowds. In some central districts, officers were seen charging at demonstrators and using batons. Describing the chaotic scenes, Paris resident Mehmet Ozeden told reporters it felt “like we had a war.” Another local, Anita GrasIt, expressed alarm at seeing groups of young people “smashing everything, with total impunity.”
Looting was rampant across the country. In one instance, a witness named Maryse said she observed looters “proudly carrying supermarket baskets filled with goods and laughing about their thefts.” Retailers suffered significant damage, with the Retail and Trade Federation estimating that roughly 1,500 shops were impacted. By Sunday morning, shopkeepers in Paris were seen cleaning up debris and large shards of glass outside high-end boutiques like Gucci, Versace, and Ralph Lauren.
Destruction reached several public buildings.
In Marseille, protesters used a metal fence to ram their way into city hall.
In Limoges, a 143-year-old town hall building was gutted by fire after a mob allegedly prevented firefighters from reaching the scene.
Maurice Barate, the prefect for the Haute-Vienne department, described the attackers as a “wild horde” that had “deliberately” set the structure ablaze.
Meanwhile, in Lyon, Mayor Grégory Doucet lamented the burning of the city’s historic tourist office, calling it a tragedy for a city landmark. According to in the city of Lyon, Mayor Grégory Doucet, The burning of the city’s tourist office was “a tragedy”, telling French outlet BFMTV that “it breaks our hearts because it’s a very iconic, well-known historic building”.
The violence resulted in significant casualties, with the interior ministry reporting that more than 500 police officers, gendarmes, and firefighters were injured. In Saint-Étienne, Mayor Régis Juanico reported a severe incident where a young man had his hand blown off by a small explosive, stating that such a tragedy “should never have happened.”
Protests have been mounting for weeks, driven by student and worker demands for better school funding, more staff, and improvements to overcrowded facilities. However, Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez distinguished between the fundamental right to demonstrate and the “targeted acts of violence” committed by “hooded individuals” and far-left groups. He alleged that these groups were later joined by “delinquents” who exploited the situation to ransack businesses.
Further reports of property damage emerged from across the country, including in Rennes, Toulouse, Angers, Grenoble, Avignon, Pau, Montpellier, and Valence. In Lille, an Apple store was broken into, and a McDonald’s restaurant was set on fire. As the clean-up began, many storefronts were found covered in graffiti slogans like “tax the rich” and “eat the rich.”
For some business owners, the scale of the damage was devastating. One shopkeeper near the Place de la R̩publique showed reporters his ransacked premises, noting that CCTV footage captured looters inside for over 90 minutes without any police intervention. He argued that the individuals responsible were not genuine protesters but opportunists capitalizing on the civil unrest. With piles of clothes and furniture scattered across the shop floor, visited a clothes shop close to the Place de la R̩publique which had been ransacked. According to the owner Рwho asked not to be identified -, He did not believe any of those who robbed the shop were genuine protesters against school conditions or the cost of living. A reporter visited the Good Vibes bakery, whose glass front was completely shattered, and the Nicolas wine store, where every bottle was either stolen or smashed, leaving smell of alcohol lingering in the street, close to the Place de la R̩publique.
