Violence and looting erupted across France during nationwide protests Saturday. At least 1,200 people were arrested, officials said.
Fires, looting and clashes with police broke out in cities across France on Saturday during nationwide protests over conditions in schools and the cost of living. At least 1,200 people were arrested, according to the BBC, which said the French government described the day as an “escalation in violence.”
Authorities estimated 550,000 people took part nationwide, including 110,000 in Paris. The main march in the capital was largely peaceful during the afternoon. As the day wore on, riot police used tear gas and water cannon on crowds, and some groups set street fires and torched vehicles, including at the Place de la République. Shops were ransacked and at least one restaurant was gutted by fire. Elsewhere, a fire at the Limoges town hall caused part of the roof to collapse, according to the local prefecture. In Lyon, the city’s tourist office was burned, and Mayor Grégory Doucet called it a tragedy. Local police said hostile individuals prevented firefighters from tackling the blaze safely. Al Jazeera reported that demonstrators breached the town hall in Marseille and looted shops. An Apple store in Lille was broken into and emptied, and damage was also reported in Grenoble, Avignon, Pau, Montpellier and Valence. In Saint-Étienne, Mayor Régis Juanico said a young man was seriously injured when a small explosive severed his hand.
Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said 150 police officers were injured. France’s interior ministry said “hooded individuals” carried out targeted acts of violence in Paris, Marseille, Rennes, Toulouse and Angers, and it blamed what it called the “ultra-left,” Al Jazeera reported. An earlier interior ministry tally cited by Al Jazeera put arrests at at least 400.
The protests began in mid-September at a high school in Créteil, a Paris suburb, where students demonstrated over dilapidated buildings, overcrowded classrooms and teacher shortages. Hundreds of thousands of students have since joined, along with trade unionists, including members of the CGT, and remnants of the “yellow vest” movement. That movement protested cost-of-living increases for more than a year from 2018. Education Minister Édouard Geffray promised 3,000 additional supply teachers on Oct. 8, but the protests have continued.
The unrest comes as France heads into political uncertainty. President Emmanuel Macron leaves office next year, and polls suggest April’s presidential election could be contested by National Rally leader Marine Le Pen and Jean-Luc Mélenchon of the hard-left La France Insoumise. Lecornu said police faced violence of extreme intensity and that some groups were using the protests as a warm-up for the election. Mélenchon, who joined the demonstrations, accused police of unleashing violence on protesters while condemning the looting and arson. Lecornu called those remarks dangerous and cynical. Le Pen said protesters’ legitimate demands had been held hostage by the far left and accused Mélenchon of fuelling the violence. Macron said those who attacked prefectures and businesses and looted town halls would be prosecuted and punished.
Information for this report was provided by the BBC and Al Jazeera.
The people are fedup