PARIS: Nationwide demonstrations against rising living costs and deteriorating public services erupted into widespread violence in France on Saturday, with authorities reporting around 1,200 arrests and at least 150 injured police officers.
While hundreds of thousands of people participated in marches across the country, groups of violent protesters targeted public buildings, looted shops and attacked police officers and vehicles. Fires were reported in several cities, including Limoges, Marseille and Lyon.
French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said the government would not be intimidated by the violence, accusing radical groups and criminals of exploiting the demonstrations ahead of next year’s presidential election.
“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 on X.
Hundreds of Thousands Join Nationwide Demonstrations
Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez estimated that approximately 550,000 people participated in demonstrations across France. The CGT trade union put the turnout at around 800,000.
The protests brought together students, trade union members and other demonstrators angered by rising prices, fuel costs, inequality and declining public services.
The movement initially gained momentum through student protests over teacher shortages and poor conditions in schools in working-class suburbs of northern Paris. It subsequently expanded into a broader campaign over living standards, public spending and government policies.
Many demonstrators said the majority of participants had marched peacefully and blamed a minority of troublemakers for the violence.
“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.
Protesters carried signs criticising the police, President Emmanuel Macron and wealthy sections of society, reflecting wider dissatisfaction with economic conditions and public services.
Fires and Looting Hit Major French Cities
Violence spread across several urban centres as groups of masked protesters clashed with police and damaged public and commercial property.
In Limoges, the city hall was set ablaze. In Marseille, black-clad protesters entered the municipal building and defaced its interior with graffiti. In Lyon, the city’s tourist office was set on fire.
In Paris, police fired tear gas as clashes intensified in several areas. Protesters attempted to break into the Galeries Lafayette department store, damaged banks and looted shops, including a Lacoste outlet and an SFR mobile phone store.
Cars and other objects were also set on fire during the unrest.
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French authorities condemned the attacks, arguing that violent groups had undermined the right of peaceful demonstrators to express their grievances.
President Macron vowed to prosecute those responsible for arson, looting and attacks on public institutions.
“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,” Macron wrote on X.
Police Response Under Scrutiny After Injuries
The violence has also renewed scrutiny of French policing tactics following reports of injuries among demonstrators during earlier student protests.
The police watchdog was investigating at least two dozen allegations of police violence, according to the supplied report.
Lecornu said more than 150 police officers had been injured during Saturday’s demonstrations. Nuñez also confirmed reports that a person had suffered a severe hand injury during clashes with police after reportedly attempting to pick up a stun grenade.
The incident added to concerns about the use of crowd-control weapons during demonstrations.
Meanwhile, the UNSA police union published a video on X that it said showed crowds attacking police vans with clubs and bricks at several locations.
“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.
It warned that police personnel were facing mounting pressure as clashes continued.
Living Costs and Education Fuel Public Anger
The protests began last month with student demonstrations in northern Paris suburbs, where complaints about teacher shortages and deteriorating school facilities helped trigger wider mobilisation.
The movement has since incorporated demands relating to economic inequality, public spending and living standards.
Rising fuel prices and housing costs have added to public frustration, while protesters have criticised what they view as inadequate government responses to the problems affecting ordinary households.
Saturday’s demonstrations also revived comparisons with France’s Yellow Vest movement, which began in 2018 amid anger over fuel taxes and living costs.
Protesters in high-visibility vests blocked streets in parts of Paris, recalling the earlier movement. The latest demonstrations attracted large crowds, although participation remained below the levels recorded during the 2023 protests against Macron’s pension reforms.
Economic Pressure Adds to Political Tensions
The unrest comes as Macron approaches the final stretch of his presidency, with France facing political divisions and concerns over public finances.
Government efforts to reduce public debt have failed to reassure investors fully, while borrowing costs have risen to levels not seen in more than two decades, according to the supplied report.
The protests have also exposed divisions over how the government should respond to economic hardship, public-service pressures and demands for political accountability.
Lecornu has insisted that peaceful demonstrations remain legitimate but warned that arson, looting and attacks on police would not be tolerated.
Macron has similarly called for unity against those responsible for violence while defending the right of people to express their demands peacefully.
Protests Spread to Other European Countries
France was not the only European country to experience demonstrations over economic and social concerns on Saturday.
Several hundred people, mostly young demonstrators, protested in Brussels, where some clashed with police. Belgian student groups have opposed rising education costs and reforms they fear could make higher education less accessible.
In Portugal, tens of thousands of people took to the streets of Lisbon to protest housing costs and other living expenses. Housing prices in the country have doubled since 2017, intensifying concerns about affordability.
Italy also witnessed demonstrations over living costs. In Milan, a march descended into disorder, prompting police to use tear gas. In Bologna, police deployed water cannons and arrested seven people after another protest turned violent, according to the ANSA news agency.
In Albania, protesters continued demonstrations against alleged government corruption, unemployment and poor education standards, with police using what appeared to be rubber bullets during clashes.
The developments reflect growing public discontent over economic pressures and public services in several European countries, although the demonstrations have involved different national grievances and political circumstances.
For France, the immediate challenge is to restore order while addressing the concerns that brought hundreds of thousands of people onto the streets. The scale of the unrest, the number of arrests and the continuing scrutiny of police tactics have placed renewed pressure on the government as the country moves closer to its next presidential election.
