France Arrests 1,800 as Cost-of-Living Protests Ignite Cities
Student walkouts over school conditions swelled into a nationwide revolt targeting retail chains and municipal buildings six months before the presidential election.
Nearly 1,800 people were arrested and more than 500 emergency personnel injured across France on Saturday after demonstrations over living costs and deteriorating public services spiraled into widespread arson and looting. One protester died of cardiac arrest in Paris, authorities said.
Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez confirmed the arrest figures Sunday, including 855 detentions in the Paris region alone. The violence marked the most severe domestic unrest since the 2023 pension reform riots, when roughly 2,800 people were arrested nationwide over several weeks. Saturday’s destruction compressed comparable chaos into a single afternoon.
What began four weeks ago as student walkouts over teacher shortages and crumbling school infrastructure in working-class suburbs metastasized into a broader revolt. Government estimates placed participation at more than 550,000 people. Organizers claimed 800,000.
In Limoges, demonstrators breached city hall and deliberately set the historic building ablaze, causing severe structural damage. Retail corridors in Paris, Bordeaux, Marseille and Lyon were ransacked. Carrefour CEO Alexandre Bompard told French television that 50 of the supermarket chain’s stores sustained damage, with 20 looted entirely, resulting in tens of millions of euros in losses, according to Reuters.
President Emmanuel Macron spent Friday evening attending a Celine Dion concert at the Plenitude Arena in Nanterre, west of Paris, joining roughly 35,000 spectators, according to French media reports. He had returned earlier that day from a European Council summit in Brussels, where he urged “calm and respect” ahead of the planned marches.
Macron posted a statement on X late Saturday condemning the property damage and attacks on public buildings, warning that those responsible would face prosecution. He did not address the underlying economic grievances driving the crowds.
Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu blamed the destruction on the “ultra-left” and criminal opportunists. Opposition leaders rejected the framing. Left-wing leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon defended the protesters’ broader grievances and accused Lecornu of “playing with fire,” according to reports. Right-wing leader Marine Le Pen condemned the looting.
The political fallout lands six months before France’s presidential election. Mayors of Paris, Marseille and Lyon have requested an emergency meeting with Lecornu to assess municipal damages. Local officials in Marseille and Bordeaux announced or proposed emergency financial assistance for affected businesses.
Macron is scheduled to deliver a televised national address at 8 p.m. local time Sunday following meetings with senior government officials.
