Paris, October 17 (Albania Journal) – Rioting broke out in cities across France on Saturday as demonstrations over rising living costs and declining public services escalated into some of the country’s worst violence in decades.
Hundreds of thousands of people took part in peaceful marches across dozens of cities. However, groups of violent protesters targeted public buildings, looted luxury stores and supermarkets, and attacked police officers and vehicles.
In Limoges, the city hall was set on fire. In Marseille, black-clad protesters broke into the city hall and defaced the building with anarchist graffiti. In Lyon, protesters set fire to the city’s tourist office.
French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu said the government would not be “intimidated” by the violence. He blamed the unrest on the “ultra-left” and criminals, as France prepares for a presidential election next year.
“To those who clearly want to use this violence as a ‘warm-up’ before the presidential election, I say clearly: We will not let ourselves be intimidated. No one will impose their political agenda through violence,” he wrote in a post on X.
Lecornu said around 1,200 people had been arrested during the protests. He made the announcement while visiting affected sites in the evening.
Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said approximately 550,000 people had participated in demonstrations across the country. The CGT trade union told Reuters it estimated the number of protesters at 800,000.
President Emmanuel Macron vowed to prosecute and punish those responsible for the attacks.
“We will all stand united against the sowers of chaos, who only seek to undermine our institutions and prevent those who peacefully express their demands from doing so,” he wrote on X.
Protests also took place on a smaller scale in Belgium, Portugal and Italy on Saturday amid rising living costs across Europe. In Albania, demonstrators again took to the streets over allegations of government corruption, a shortage of jobs and poor education standards.
Protesters in France said the majority of demonstrators had marched peacefully, blaming much of the violence on troublemakers intent on damaging property and clashing with police. Many carried placards criticising the police, the president and wealthy people.
“We are fighting because the cost of living is too harsh, because the price of fuel is too high, because high school pupils are being violently attacked and hurt all over the country just for trying to protest and ask for more teachers and decent learning conditions,” said Lola, a 19-year-old protester in Paris.
Tear Gas, Fires and Looting
Most demonstrations began around midday, although some started before the officially scheduled time.
In parts of Paris, police fired tear gas as they retreated from groups of mostly young protesters. Many demonstrators wore black clothing, hoodies, masks and goggles to protect themselves from tear gas.
Violent groups attempted to break into the Galeries Lafayette department store, damaged banks, ransacked a Lacoste outlet and other boutiques, and looted an SFR mobile phone shop. Objects, including numerous cars, were set on fire throughout the day.
Several hundred people, mostly young demonstrators, also protested in Brussels, where some clashed with police. Belgian student groups said they were demonstrating against rising education costs and proposed reforms they fear could make higher education less accessible.
In Albania, police fired what appeared to be rubber bullets at protesters during the fifth consecutive day of mass student demonstrations demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Edi Rama.
In Portugal, tens of thousands of people marched through Lisbon to protest against housing costs and other living expenses following several days of unrest. Housing prices in the country have doubled since 2017, contributing to one of Europe’s most severe housing affordability crises.
In Milan, Italy, a demonstration against the rising cost of living descended into violence. Police used tear gas to clear the city’s central cathedral square. In Bologna, police deployed water cannons to disperse crowds and arrested seven people after another protest turned violent, the ANSA news agency reported.
French Police Response Under Scrutiny
The protests in France began last month at high schools in the working-class northern suburbs of Paris. Initial anger over teacher shortages and poor school facilities gradually developed into a broader movement against inequality, public spending policies and declining living standards.
In Paris on Saturday, protesters wearing high-visibility vests blocked roads, recalling the Yellow Vest movement that marked Macron’s previous term in office.
The latest demonstrations drew larger crowds than those seen at the peak of the Yellow Vest movement, although participation remained significantly below the levels recorded during the 2023 protests against Macron’s pension reforms.
Macron is approaching the final stretch of his presidency amid a fragmented political landscape and mounting pressure over the economy.
The government’s efforts to reduce public debt have failed to reassure investors, pushing French government borrowing costs to their highest levels in more than two decades.
Police tactics have also come under scrutiny following injuries among demonstrators. One teenager lost a hand after picking up a stun grenade, while the police watchdog is investigating at least two dozen allegations of police violence.
Lecornu said more than 150 police officers had been injured during Saturday’s demonstrations but did not provide figures on injuries among protesters.
Nunez confirmed reports that one person had lost a hand during clashes with police on Saturday. French media reported that the individual had attempted to pick up a stun grenade.
The UNSA police union posted a video on X showing crowds attacking police vans with clubs and bricks at several locations. The union warned that police forces were reaching their breaking point.
“Today again, in every corner of France, our colleagues are being used as punching bags. Pelted with stones, injured, trapped in real ambushes,” the union said.
“Let everyone take responsibility: this cannot go on indefinitely. The rope is stretched to its maximum.”
