France riots: Buildings torched, 1,200 detained nationwide
Photo: REUTERS
Massive riots erupted across major French cities on Saturday night as widespread unrest spilled beyond Paris, leaving government buildings torched and more than 1,000 people detained by police.
Fire engulfed the historic town hall in the central city of Limoges, where video captured its roof collapsing. In Marseille, black-clad protesters broke into city hall and defaced the building, while demonstrators in Lyon torched the city’s tourist office, the Reuters news agency reported.
As night fell in Paris, bands of young people looted businesses and started fires following the conclusion of demonstrations, driving police forces to respond with tear gas and baton charges through narrow streets.
Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu confirmed that law enforcement had detained 1,200 people nationwide amid the sprawling unrest, while strongly condemning the “unacceptable levels of violence.”
The destruction shattered what began as largely peaceful protests, which grew out of sweeping student-led rallies that gripped parts of France last month. Those demonstrations sparked a broader national movement against crumbling schools, the spiking cost of living, and perceived government inaction.
The ongoing rallies now symbolize long-simmering, intergenerational anger among citizens who say negligent governments leave their calls for social and political change unmet. Interior Minister Laurent Nunez reported that some 5,50,000 protesters hit the streets across France, including 1,10,000 in Paris, though organizers estimated an even higher turnout.
During Saturday’s mobilization in Paris, demonstrators voiced deep frustration over national leadership and economic inequality. “There’s an accumulation of wealth and power that’s completely out of control,” 36-year-old protester Pauline told CNN.
Expressing support for younger generations, she added, “We’re also here to support the youth. There are victories, but if we look at the bigger picture, it’s not going in the right direction,” Another demonstrator, 38-year-old Louise, complained of “less democracy” and a “concentration of power” under President Emmanuel Macron’s leadership.
“There are billionaires who control the media,” Louise told CNN, declaring, “We are fighting to change things.”
President Emmanuel Macron slammed “sowers of chaos” for interfering with peaceful protests, warning late on Saturday that “those who have broken, attacked (police) prefectures, as well as businesses, looted even our town halls, will be prosecuted and punished.”
Meanwhile, the Paris Police Prefecture - the body overseeing the Paris Police Force, emergency services, and various administrative departments - asserted its stance, saying, “We do not back down in the face of rioters and those who’ve come to attack law enforcement,” and adding that its staffers stood “their ground with courage and professionalism.”
In recent weeks, the police response to the ongoing protests has drawn intense public scrutiny. Earlier in the week, police action left a 14-year-old boy with a fractured jaw. Cameras also captured another police officer using a headlock on a girl in the northwestern area of Alençon - an action now prohibited by law.
Violence during marches also caused severe bodily harm; a police source informed CNN affiliate BFMTV that a protester in Saint-Étienne, situated roughly 40 miles southwest of Lyon, lost his hand during a march on Saturday. This marks the second reported instance of a demonstrator losing their hand in the current wave of student protests.
Earlier this month, a student in the northeastern city of Lens lost his hand after reportedly picking up a grenade, prompting police to temporarily suspend one type of stun grenade. Authorities have since rescinded that ban, which still allowed police to use several different grenade types.
Despite the localized violence, authorities stated through BFMTV that the “vast majority of individuals” had demonstrated peacefully on Saturday.
Emphasizing this contrast, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, leader of the far-left La France Insoumise Party, posted on X that the majority of demonstrators on Sunday had made their point peacefully, writing, “While news channels are flooded with images of violence in dozens of cities, everything is unfolding peacefully with tens of thousands of people calmly mobilized. Two worlds, two realities.”
International solidarity echoed across borders on Saturday, as youth activists led parallel protests in Belgium, Albania, and Italy.
The overarching movement traces back to earlier this fall, when high school students across France organized scattered protests demanding reduced class sizes, increased spending on teachers, investments in climate-resilient infrastructure, and an end to police violence against young people.
Over the past 15 years, a rise in fertility coupled with funding cuts has resulted in more students and fewer teachers in classrooms. French Education Minister Edouard Geffray has met with student protesters multiple times in recent weeks, although both sides have yet to reach an agreement.
Source: CNN (adapted)
