French President Emmanuel Macron appears on screen in a televised address to the nation on October 18, 2026, near Marseille, France, a day after clashes broke out during a National Day demonstration against rising costs of living and fuel prices.
Manon Cruisereuter
French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday expressed his people’s “outrage” and “shame” over the rioting and looting that occurred during nationwide protests against rising costs of living and poor conditions in schools. At least 1,800 people were arrested.
“Those who looted will have to pay for the damage, and those who tried to destroy the republic will be held accountable,” President Macron said in a televised address to the nation.
He blamed the “unrestrained violence” on “insurgents from radical far-left groups joined by numerous criminals.”
Mr Macron had earlier held an emergency meeting with government officials a day after masked groups set fires and attacked public buildings, including city halls, in several cities. He said he has directed governors to work with mayors to protect public buildings and businesses in the coming weeks, including banning protests if necessary.
Flames engulfed the 19th-century town hall in Limoges, central France, causing the roof to collapse and the building to be nearly destroyed.
On Sunday, hundreds of protesters gathered again in Paris’ Place de la République amid a heavy police presence. Tensions escalated sporadically in the neighborhood, with small groups attempting to set bicycles and trash cans on fire, and police using tear gas.
“The right to protest is a fundamental right. Deliberately and collectively sowing chaos through violence is not a fundamental right,” Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez wrote on X, citing the looting of hundreds of businesses in cities including Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Bordeaux.
Officials said around 550,000 people took part in protests across France, while organizers put the number at around 800,000. The demonstrators were responding to calls from trade unions, student groups and activists who want to revive the “yellow vest” movement, which was created in 2018 to protest social injustice.
Large-scale protests in France are often marred by violence on the fringes of peaceful marches, leading to clashes with police. The number of arrests reported Sunday approached the nearly 2,000 daily arrests recorded across the country during yellow vest protests in December 2018.
Paris police said in a statement that one person died of a heart attack, without providing further details. Paris prosecutors said they were investigating.
Parisians lament destroyed stores and destroyed squares
Peeling cobblestones, shattered storefronts and broken glass littered the area around Place de la République in Paris on Sunday. Looting and damage have also been reported at other tourist spots and shopping districts.
Paris police announced that 855 people had been arrested in the capital region. The city prosecutor’s office said police detained 557 people.
Marie Péreigne, a 57-year-old government worker, said she was “shocked by the level of destruction and violence that was actually expressed” and wondered what had sparked the mayhem.
Parisians inspecting the damage took photos of the partially demolished base of the square’s central monument, the statue of Marianne, a symbol of France.
Jean Foissy, 74, said he wanted to take part in the protests, but “we ran into a wall of riot police and there were fires everywhere,” so he went home.
“It was very scary,” he said. “I’ve been a Parisian since I was born, so when I came here I almost cried because it was so bad and heartbreaking.”
Margaux Youde, 26, said she supported the protests but “didn’t expect it to escalate this much.”
“These are troublemakers who have arrived. They delegitimize the movement and it breaks my heart,” she said.
Political leaders trade responsibilities ahead of elections
Political leaders from all walks of life sought to turn the aftermath of Saturday’s riot into political capital ahead of next spring’s presidential election.
In a video posted on social media on Sunday, far-right leader and presidential candidate Marine Le Pen criticized Macron’s centrist government, calling it “exhausted, disoriented and seemingly unable to do anything other than comment on its own powerlessness.”
Far-left leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon accused Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu of “playing with fire” and claimed he had “succeeded only in uniting all young people and trade unions by resorting to degradation.”
“My message is clear: those who sympathize with our fight have no use for looting and destruction,” said Mélenchon, who took part in Saturday’s Paris march.
US President Donald Trump posted: “France is on fire!” His Truth Social platform apparently links the uproar to “the immigration of people from a completely different world.”
“Let’s close our borders and take control before it’s too late!” he wrote.
French authorities and police have not linked migrants to the riots, repeatedly blaming some of the violence on “radical far-left groups” and others who took part in the looting.
Hundreds of businesses are looted across the country
“The scale of the damage is substantial and unprecedented,” Paris Mayor Emmanuel Grégoire said in an open letter. “Paris is a city of freedom, debate and demonstration, and it must remain that way. But it must also be a city where everyone can work and conduct business safely.”
Police said a group of several hundred people held an unauthorized demonstration in central Paris on Saturday. “By late afternoon, a new phase began with the arrival of large numbers of people whose sole purpose was to take advantage of the unrest and steal and loot,” police said.
The mayors of the three largest cities – Paris, Marseille and Lyon – requested a meeting with the prime minister within the next few days “taking into account the extent of the damage and the seriousness of the situation”.
In the southern port city of Marseille, some demonstrators briefly forced their way into the lobby of city hall, and a group of hooded and masked men destroyed a police station. In Lyon, a fire broke out inside a tourist information center.
In Limoges, a group of “radical troublemakers” entered the city hall while elected officials, staff, security guards and members of the public were inside, Haute-Vienne region governor Maurice Baraté said. “Despite the presence of so many people, they deliberately set fire to the building. This is an extremely serious and unspeakable act.”
The public prosecutor’s office in Mulhouse, eastern France, announced that it had launched an investigation after a 17-year-old girl was injured during a protest and lost an eye. A new investigation has been launched after a young protester lost his hand in Saint-Etienne on Saturday.
The injuries come as police closely monitor the use of grenades and other riot-control weapons during recent demonstrations.
