France protests turn violent, with looting and arson and 1,200 or more arrests reported

Nationwide marches in France on Saturday, October 17, over living costs and public services turned violent in Paris and other cities, with looting, car fires and attacks on public buildings, according to Reuters and AFP. Authorities have given several different arrest counts. Reuters reports that the protests began last month at high schools in working-class suburbs north of Paris and widened into a broader movement.

What happened

Protesters in Limoges set fire to the city hall, which was partly destroyed, Reuters reports. Town halls in Marseille and Lille were broken into and vandalized, and a tourist office in Lyon was set on fire, according to AFP and Reuters. Shops were looted in Paris, Marseille, Nice, Bordeaux and Lille, AFP and Mathrubhumi report; AFP names a Hermes boutique in Marseille and an Apple store in Lille. Police used tear gas and water cannon, Dawn reports, citing AFP.

Reuters says Interior Minister Laurent Nunez put the damage at several hundred shops. It also reports that Carrefour's chief executive told BFMTV that 50 of the chain's stores were damaged, 20 of them looted. Reuters adds that the mayor of Bordeaux, Thomas Cazenave, said up to 100 stores there were looted. One demonstrator died of cardiac arrest during the Paris protests, Reuters reports.

The numbers differ

• Arrests. Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu gave a figure of about 1,200 on Saturday evening, Reuters reports. A later Reuters report cites nearly 1,800 arrests without naming a source. Paris police said on Sunday they had arrested a record 855 people in the capital, and the Paris prosecutor's office said 517 were in custody, 346 of them adults and 171 minors, with provisional figures, according to AFP via Ada Derana. An early AFP count on Saturday was more than 130.
• Police injured. Lecornu said more than 150 officers were hurt (Reuters). Nunez said more than 500, Reuters reports.
• Turnout. The interior ministry gave about 550,000 marchers; the CGT union said 800,000 (Reuters, AFP). An earlier AFP report gave the CGT's figure as 500,000.

A protester lost a hand in Saint-Etienne. AFP, citing a police source, said a crowd-control grenade caused it; Reuters says Nunez confirmed the injury and that French media reported the man had tried to pick up a stun grenade.

Government response

President Emmanuel Macron said those responsible for vandalism and looting would be prosecuted and punished, according to Reuters and AFP. Lecornu blamed the "ultra-left" and criminals, and Reuters reports he described the violence as a possible warm-up for next year's presidential election. Reuters says Macron was due to address the nation on Sunday evening; the reports read do not cover what he said. Marine Le Pen wrote that rioters had sullied the demonstrations, and Jean-Luc Mélenchon supported the marches while urging protesters to avoid looting, according to AFP and Mathrubhumi. AFP says US Vice President JD Vance blamed immigration for the unrest in a post on X.

Stated grievances

Protesters and organizers cited living costs, fuel prices, school conditions, teacher shortages and police treatment of students, Reuters and AFP report. The Yellow Vest movement had called a "yellow and youth" day of action. Reuters reports that protesters said most marchers were peaceful, and AFP quotes Paris mayor Emmanuel Gregoire as saying the overwhelming majority of demonstrators wanted to march calmly.