France faces one of its most violent days of unrest in recent years as anti-government protests escalate into clashes with police, looting and vandalism. Two people are dead, and around 2,400 arrests have been reported nationwide.
What began as largely peaceful anti-government demonstrations have escalated into one of France's most violent days of unrest in recent years, leaving two people dead and around 2,400 arrests nationwide. Hundreds of protesters have clashed with the police, bicycles and trash bins have been set on fire, and looting and vandalism have been reported.
At the Place de la Republique, hundreds of protesters clashed with the police and looted food and telecom stores. In Lille, protesters smashed shop windows, vandalised a bank and lit fires near the city's train station. In Lyon, rioters set fire to the city's tourist office and looted nearby businesses. Meanwhile, in Marseille, Protestors briefly reached the City Hall and masked groups damaged a local police station. Police used tear gas, water cannons and riot control grenades against the protestors. Citing the extensive damage to their cities, the mayors of Paris, Marseille and Lyon jointly requested an urgent meeting with the Prime Minister.
In a televised address from the Élysée Palace, French President Emmanuel Macron called for "calm and order", declaring that "nothing justifies" the "unbridled violence" and expressing "anger and shame" over the destruction. Macron also called for the need to separate citizens with "legitimate demands" from rioters, blaming the chaos on "insurrectionist elements from radical far left groups" and "ultra left fringe groups" along with opportunistic criminals. Macron promised an "uncompromising" legal response and that those who sought to "bring down the Republic will be held accountable".
Macron announced that local authorities should be permitted to ban specific demonstrations "if necessary", although he did not explicitly declare a state of emergency or a curfew.
The police have come under fire from prosecutors as they open investigations into incidents of severe injury, such as a 7-year-old girl who lost an eye and a young protester who lost a hand. The unrest has also intensified political tensions months before the upcoming presidential election. Far-right candidate and Macrons rival Marine Le Pen has called Macron's administration "exhausted and disoriented", and hard left leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon has warned that the situation could become "uncontrollable".
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