Macron condemns ‘shocking’ violence in France and orders review after 2,400 arrests
France counts the cost of nationwide unrest as Macron promises crisis talks and a policing review, with nearly 1,000 officers reported injured.
- French President Emmanuel Macron condemned the "shocking" violence during nationwide protests, which resulted in 2,400 arrests and nearly 1,000 injured police officers.
- Macron has ordered a review of intelligence gathering and police preparedness to determine if failures contributed to the authorities' response to the widespread looting and arson.
- In addition to the review, Macron has called for crisis talks with students, unions, and business leaders to find solutions, while empowering local officials to prohibit certain gatherings.
French President Emmanuel Macron ordered a review of intelligence gathering and police preparedness on Sunday (October 18), condemning “shocking” violence across France after nationwide cost-of-living protests were marred by looting and arson. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said police had made 2,400 arrests across France and nearly 1,000 officers had been injured. One protester died after suffering a cardiac arrest during Saturday’s demonstrations in Paris.
Macron appealed for calm in a televised address, while acknowledging that peaceful demonstrators had legitimate grievances and should not be confused with those responsible for destruction.
“Looking at these images, we have all asked ourselves: what was going through their minds? How can French people do this to France?” Macron said.
“Nothing justifies it, nothing explains it, nothing excuses it. Tonight, we all feel anger and shame,” Macron added.
Macron orders policing review and crisis talks
Macron said the review would determine whether failures in intelligence gathering or police preparedness had contributed to the authorities’ response to protests that descended into violence.
Macron stopped short of declaring a state of emergency, despite demands from some right-wing politicians. The president said prefects and mayors would be empowered to prohibit certain gatherings where necessary to protect public buildings and local businesses.
Macron also asked the government to bring together students, teachers, lawmakers, trade union representatives and business leaders this week to develop “concrete proposals” to address the crisis, without providing further details.
“We must sit around the table and build solutions together,” Macron said.
Fresh clashes follow nationwide demonstrations
Fresh clashes erupted in Paris and Marseille on Sunday, with riot police intervening to prevent attempts to ransack businesses.
Police fired tear gas during confrontations at Place de la Republique in Paris on Sunday afternoon, where protesters had set fire to piles of bicycles. A Reuters witness said several hundred protesters appeared to be in the area.
More than half a million people had joined marches in scores of French cities on Saturday. The demonstrations brought together a month-long student movement and broader anger over rising living costs and declining public services.
Hundreds of thousands demonstrated peacefully, while violent fringe groups attacked public buildings, looted luxury boutiques and supermarkets, and targeted police officers and vehicles.
The French government blamed the violence on what it described as ultra-left groups and criminals who had instigated looting.
Clean-up operations stretched from Lille in the north to Marseille in the south, and from Strasbourg in the east to Bordeaux in the southwest. A masked mob had invaded the local prefect’s residence in Bordeaux.
“It’s like a war zone here!” said Dutch entrepreneur Tije De Boer, who was visiting Paris with his children and said the unrest had forced him to evacuate his hotel at Place de la Republique.
Limoges town hall devastated as shops count losses
Limoges town hall was largely destroyed in an arson attack. The collapse of its clock tower in the flames evoked memories of the 2019 fire at Notre Dame cathedral in Paris.
Guillaume Guérin, mayor of the city renowned for its porcelain, said too few national police officers had been deployed to Limoges.
“There was a clear, premeditated intention to burn down the town hall, and the people inside feared for their lives,” Guerin told Reuters on Sunday.
Guérin threatened to resign unless Limoges received the funding needed to repair the town hall.
Economy Minister Roland Lescure pledged support on Sunday for business owners who had suffered losses during the unrest, which damaged hundreds of shops.
“Those who break things will pay, repair the damage and be held accountable for their intention to sow chaos,” Lescure said in a statement.
Carrefour chief executive Alexandre Bompard told French broadcaster BFMTV that 50 of the retailer’s shops had been damaged, including 20 that were looted. Bompard put the losses from the damage at tens of millions of euros.
Political pressure builds before the 2027 election
Macron faces mounting political, fiscal and social pressures in his final six months in office. The president is due to leave office in 2027 after a decade increasingly marked by social discontent, a weak economy and ballooning debt.
Far-right National Rally leader Marine Le Pen, the frontrunner heading into next year’s presidential campaign, also appealed for calm. Le Pen said France must not become accustomed to images of the country being battered, abused and ransacked.
“Violence is not an opinion. Destruction is not a form of expression. And chaos cannot serve as a project for France,” Le Pen said in a video address.
Hard-left France Unbowed presidential candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon said Macron needed to respond to the demands of protesting high-school students.
