Several public buildings were attacked and set on fire and numerous businesses were looted this Saturday in different cities in France during the protests against the rising cost of living, in a day of violence that led the authorities to reinforce police forces and that shows a high balance of damages. In Paris, the looting spread to different neighborhoods, some far from the route of the authorized demonstration.
“Very angry,” said the socialist mayor of Paris, Emmanuel Grégoire, mentioning in statements the vandalized and looted businesses. In the city of Limoges, protesters stormed City Hall and set fire to the ground floor of the building, with flames reaching the roof. Several police vehicles were also damaged and set on fire and commercial establishments were looted. On the other hand, Lille City Hall was also the target of several protesters who forced entry and managed to access the interior, where they caused damage before fleeing. The images released showed broken glass, overturned furniture and documents scattered on the floor.
Another municipality affected by these protests was in Marseille where dozens of people forced the doors of the City Hall and briefly entered the lobby, where they caused damage and painted graffiti before being evicted by the police.
The protests, called against inflation and the loss of purchasing power, have brought together students, workers, retirees and activists in different French cities, in a mobilization that recovers some of the demands of the yellow vest movement of 2018 and 2019.
Macron promises punishment for looters
French President Emmanuel Macron stated that there is “no place for violence” in France. The president promised punishments for the perpetrators of the destruction and looting on this day of protests and called for a “united front” against “those who sow chaos.” “Those who have destroyed, attacked prefectures and businesses and looted even our town halls, will be persecuted and punished,” Macron wrote in a message on his social networks.
The head of state also assured that there will be “a united front against those who sow chaos, who only seek to tear down our institutions and prevent those who peacefully express their demands from doing so.”
400 detainees and more than half a million attendees
The law enforcement forces have announced the arrest until late this Saturday afternoon of 400 people for acts of violence during the day of protests that took place in France. These mobilizations have been massive, with a much higher participation than the authorities had anticipated.
The Minister of the Interior, Laurent Núñez, admitted that this figure of 400 people was still provisional and estimated that in this mobilization called by very diverse groups, 550,000 people had taken to the streets throughout the country, when his services until Friday anticipated 150,000 at most. The organizers, for their part, have stated that there were 800,000 protesters.
Núñez emphasized that “the vast majority” of those arrested are of legal age, which proves in his opinion that this protest cannot be compared to the movement of high school students in recent weeks, and that behind the violence seen throughout the country there were “several thousand rioters,” among whom he identified ultra-left groups and “opportunistic criminals.”
