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President Emmanuel Macron urged an end to violence in a televised address after protests over the cost of living and public services deteriorated into riots that swept multiple cities on Saturday. The French leader stressed that peaceful demonstrators held legitimate grievances but said those who engaged in destruction would face prosecution. “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 according to a Reuters report on the speech. “Nothing justifies it nothing explains it nothing excuses it. Tonight we all feel anger and shame” he added while ordering a review of police preparedness and intelligence procedures.
The interior ministry reported that authorities carried out 2400 arrests across France in connection with the unrest while nearly 1000 officers were injured seven of them seriously. One protester died of cardiac arrest during the Paris demonstrations the ministry’s data show. Security forces responded with tear gas and water cannons after groups torched a town hall in Limoges looted shops and defaced public buildings in several locations.
Government estimates placed overall participation in the Saturday marches at around 550000 people with the interior ministry noting that the majority of events remained peaceful until fringe elements turned to violence. The protests grew out of student demonstrations that began in late September over school funding and conditions the education ministry stated. Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu told reporters that the government would pursue full accountability for attacks on law enforcement and civic infrastructure.
Interior Minister Laurent Nunez attributed much of the disorder to ultra-left activists and criminal networks that exploited the large gatherings the ministry’s briefing indicated. Clashes continued on a smaller scale in Paris and Marseille on Sunday with additional arrests reported as police prevented further looting attempts. The events rank among the most intense outbreaks of urban violence in France in years according to the interior ministry’s comparison with prior periods of unrest.
Macron’s office announced the formation of a crisis unit to coordinate urgent support for damaged communities while promising transparency in the review of law enforcement tactics. The interior ministry confirmed that investigations were under way to identify further suspects with a focus on those who targeted emergency services or public property. Judicial authorities have already begun processing those detained with the first court appearances expected in the coming days.
The demonstrations highlighted ongoing economic pressures that have mounted since the COVID-19 pandemic including rising fuel costs and strained public services a pattern also documented in earlier government assessments of social discontent. Organisers including yellow-vest groups and student unions had called for policy changes to address inequality and underfunding the interior ministry noted in its summary of the march demands. Officials said the review ordered by Macron would examine how such large-scale protests can be better managed to protect both public order and the right to demonstrate.
