PARIS — French President Emmanuel Macron appealed for calm and order Sunday following a weekend of chaotic demonstrations across France that left historic buildings charred, hundreds of storefronts ransacked and roughly 2,400 people under arrest, according to authorities.
The unrest began Saturday when an estimated 550,000 people rallied nationwide to protest the surging cost of living, high fuel prices and worsening public services, particularly in schools, the BBC reported. While the initial demonstrations were mostly peaceful, violent factions, masked groups and looters subsequently set fires and fought with riot police in Paris, Marseille, Lyon, Lille and several other cities.
Historic Landmarks and Businesses Damaged
Clashes persisted into Sunday afternoon around the Place de la République in central Paris, where demonstrators ignited piles of electric bicycles and threw projectiles at police, who answered with tear gas and stun grenades, The Guardian reported. In the capital alone, police made a record 855 arrests after streets were left littered with torched cars, shattered glass and destroyed barricades.
Destruction was widespread outside the capital as well. In the central city of Limoges, rioters stormed and torched the 19th-century town hall, leaving about two-thirds of the exterior ruined and the roof caved in, local prefect Maurice Barate told AFP. Limoges Mayor Guillaume Guérin condemned the assault, stating that local police ran out of ammunition and calling the incident “a colossal failure of the state.”
In Marseille, crowds breached city hall using a metal fence as a battering ram, while looters in Lille broke into an Apple store and set fire to a McDonald’s, according to police. Traders’ unions estimated that more than 1,500 businesses were ransacked nationwide, causing tens of millions of euros in damage, The Guardian reported.
The human toll was steep. France’s interior ministry reported that nearly 1,000 police officers and gendarmes were injured Saturday, including seven seriously. Two teenagers also suffered severe trauma: a 17-year-old boy in Saint-Étienne lost his right hand from a crowd-control grenade, and a 17-year-old girl in Mulhouse lost an eye, prompting an official investigation, according to The Guardian.
Government Under Fire
In a Sunday evening address from the Élysée Palace, Macron drew a sharp line between lawful citizens expressing grievances and violent actors. He stressed that “nothing justifies” the destruction, attributing the chaos to “ultra-left” factions and criminals while warning that participants must not “escalate.” Macron announced that regional state officials would receive authority to ban street gatherings where necessary.
The administration faced sharp criticism over its handling of the crisis. Opposition figures from both the left and right demanded the resignation of Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez, alleging severe intelligence and security lapses. French media also reported that Macron and his wife attended a Celine Dion concert outside Paris on Saturday evening while street violence intensified, drawing domestic criticism, Fox News reported.
International attention mounted as well. Donald Trump posted on Truth Social on Sunday, attributing the violence to immigration and urging France to shut its borders, Fox News reported. Meanwhile, solidarity demonstrations also occurred in Spain, Italy and Portugal.
With clean-up operations underway and local bans on gatherings now authorized, it remains uncertain whether the emergency measures will prevent further unrest in the coming days as anger persists over economic strains.
