About half a million people demonstrated across France on Saturday over the rising cost of living and deteriorating schools, in one of the largest protest days in recent years — and by nightfall, the marches had given way to riots that left civic buildings torched, shops looted and more than a thousand people detained.
In Limoges, masked protesters set fire to the city’s historic town hall, a building dating to 1883 that has been a listed historic landmark since 1975. Local prefect Maurice Barate called it “a deliberate act by hooligans,” and video showed its roof collapsing. In Lyon, protesters torched the city’s tourist office, with individuals preventing firefighters from safely tackling the blaze, the Reuters news agency reported. In Marseille, black-clad protesters broke into city hall and defaced the building.
In Paris, groups of young people looted shops and set cars on fire after the marches ended, prompting tear gas and baton charges. Cars were torched and barricades briefly erected on the Champs-Élysées before riot police deployed tear gas and water cannon to disperse the crowds, and hooded individuals got within about 150 yards of the Élysée palace before being driven back by riot police, The Times reported.
Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said about 550,000 people took part in more than 100 marches — double the predicted turnout — including 110,000 in Paris. He said around 400 people had been arrested. Organizers claimed a turnout of 800,000. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu later said 1,200 people had been detained nationwide and condemned “unacceptable levels of violence.” The BBC reported 150 police officers were injured. Authorities said the vast majority of demonstrators had been peaceful, according to BFMTV.
From student rallies to a national movement
What began weeks ago as student protests over staff shortages and crumbling classrooms has swelled into a broader national movement. Saturday’s marches drew the CGT labor union, farmers’ groups and remnants of the Yellow Vest movement in what organizers called a convergence of struggles. Student protests have already forced one concession — police temporarily suspended one type of stun grenade earlier this month after a student lost a hand — though that suspension has now been rescinded.
Police tactics came under fresh scrutiny on Saturday when a protester in the city of Saint-Étienne lost a hand to a crowd-control grenade, a police source told CNN affiliate BFMTV. It is the second reported instance of a demonstrator losing a hand in the current wave of protests.
What the protesters say
“There’s an accumulation of wealth and power that’s completely out of control,” one protester, who gave her name as Pauline, 36, told CNN in Paris. “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.”
“There are billionaires who control the media,” said Louise, 38. “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 prefectures, as well as businesses, looted even our town halls, will be prosecuted and punished.”
Jean-Luc Mélenchon, leader of the far-left La France Insoumise party, said the majority of demonstrators had made their point peacefully: “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.”
Solidarity protests were held in Belgium, Albania and Italy on Saturday, CNN reported. With France preparing for a presidential election next year, the unrest is sharpening political tensions across the country.
This story is developing. Zark News will update it as more details are confirmed.
Sources: The Times; CNN; BBC; Reuters; AFP.
