France Reels from Worst Unrest in Years as Cost-of-Living Protests Leave One Dead and Hundreds of Police Injured

PARIS: France awoke on Sunday to the aftermath of one of its most violent days of civil unrest in years, after nationwide protests over soaring prices and deteriorating public services left one demonstrator dead, hundreds of police officers injured and close to 1,800 people under arrest.

One protester died after suffering a cardiac arrest during demonstrations in Paris, where police carried out a record 855 arrests. According to the Interior Minister, around 1,800 people were detained across the country and more than 500 officers sustained injuries. Later figures released by the Interior Ministry put the number of arrests at more than 2,000.

More than half a million people took part in marches in dozens of cities on Saturday, as a student movement that had been building for a month merged with wider public anger over the rising cost of living and the decline of public services. The protests first erupted last month over school conditions and teacher shortages in working-class suburbs, before expanding into a broader movement against inequality, public spending cuts and economic hardship.

While the great majority of demonstrators marched peacefully, violent fringe groups attacked public buildings, looted luxury boutiques and supermarkets, and targeted police officers and vehicles. A town hall was set on fire, shops were ransacked and buildings were covered in graffiti in cities across France. In Limoges, the city’s historic 143-year-old town hall was gutted by fire, while in Bordeaux a masked mob forced its way into the residence of the local prefect.

As the violence unfolded late on Saturday, President Emmanuel Macron declared on X that there was no room for violence in the Republic, warning that those who had ransacked businesses, attacked prefectures and looted town halls would be prosecuted and punished.

A large-scale clean-up operation got under way on Sunday in cities stretching from Lille in the north to Marseille in the south, and from Strasbourg in the east to Bordeaux in the southwest. Bordeaux Mayor Thomas Cazenave said as many as 100 shops had been looted in his city, while Marseille Mayor Benoît Payan announced emergency financial assistance for businesses affected by the violence.

Economy Minister Roland Lescure pledged support for business owners who suffered losses, stating that those responsible for the destruction would be made to pay for the damage and held accountable for seeking to sow chaos.

The unrest has intensified pressure on President Macron and his government ahead of next year’s presidential election. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu attributed the violence to the “ultra-left” and criminal elements, while far-right leader Marine Le Pen appealed for calm, saying France must not grow used to images of the country being ravaged. The turmoil comes as Lecornu’s minority government seeks €54 billion in savings in its 2027 budget in an effort to reduce the country’s widening deficit.