International
Over 2,000 Arrested, 600 Injured as Violent Unrest Rocks France
Following recent revolts in some of France’s former African colonies, including Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, the country is now facing serious internal unrest after days and weeks of protests escalated into uncontrollable violence.
The French government was engaged in crisis talks on Sunday following one of the most violent days of unrest in years, which left public buildings burnt, hundreds of shops destroyed and looted, and more than 2,000 people arrested in cities across the country.
Politicians from both the left and right called for the resignation of Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez after the government appeared to have been caught off guard by the scale of the violence. State buildings were stormed and set ablaze, bus stops were smashed, roads barricaded, and shops broken into and destroyed.
The Interior Ministry said more than 2,000 people had been arrested, while about 600 police officers, firefighters and paramedics had been injured.
In the east-central city of Saint-Étienne, a 17-year-old boy had his right hand blown off by a crowd-control grenade.
President Emmanuel Macron, who is expected to leave office no later than May next year, was preparing to address the nation on Sunday night. In a social media post, he declared that there was “no place for violence” in France.
Peaceful Protests and Violent Riots
Police and government officials faced several challenges on Saturday.
Tens of thousands of peaceful protesters marched through major cities, including the capital, Paris, to support schoolchildren’s demands for more teachers and repairs to deteriorating school facilities.
The demonstrations followed four weeks of street marches and school barricades. Parents, teachers, grandparents, students and workers participated, protesting against the high cost of living.
The protesters carried banners accusing the government of ignoring their concerns and demanding increased funding for public services.
Separately, however, different groups took police and officials by surprise with moving gatherings, sporadic arson, street barricades and clashes with security personnel in cities including Paris, Bordeaux, Nice and Marseille.
Masked looters also exploited what French media described as “chaos” on the streets to smash shopfronts and steal goods.
Anarchy In Paris
In Paris, groups of looters, some of whom appeared to be children, were seen running through the night carrying clothes and shoeboxes after masked adult men smashed shopfronts.
Police said a record 855 people had been arrested in the capital.
By Sunday, the burnt remains of barricades constructed from bicycles, bins and other materials littered the streets.
Several streets were also covered with smashed shop windows and the remains of burnt cars.
Lamia El Aaraje, the Socialist Deputy Mayor of Paris, described the violence as unprecedented.
“The capital had experienced a level of violence that we have never seen before, I believe,” she said.
In Limoges…
In Limoges, central France, the 19th-century town hall was burnt down.
The city’s Mayor, Guillaume Guérin, said those who stormed the building were not genuine demonstrators but “people organised for war”.
He alleged that the attackers threatened to kill a building caretaker and warned elected officials that they would “burn”.
Guérin blamed the state for failing to address the crisis.
“Around 3.30pm our municipal police, although present in number, found themselves no longer able to fight against the violence of rioters because they had run out of ammunition,” he said.
He described the situation as “a colossal failure of the state”.
Situation In Marseille…
In Marseille, masked groups stormed the city hall and a police station.
The Socialist Mayor, Benoît Payan, told BFMTV: “I have no words … I never thought I’d ever live through something like this.
“Hordes of rioters and looters attacked our common [state] buildings … with no real demands, but with the sole aim to wreck the demands of those who had demonstrated legitimately.”
Payan said questions needed to be asked about police tactics, as other town hall buildings, including those in Lille, were also targeted.
Situation In Lyon…
Grégory Doucet, the Green Mayor of Lyon, said he had never witnessed such violence in his city, including the burning of the historic tourist office.
Speaking to Le Monde, he said: “I’m stunned by the violence against public and state property. I saw and heard fear and anger. Shop owners felt abandoned.”
Traders’ unions said more than 1,500 shops and businesses had been ransacked, with the cost of the damage running into tens of millions of euros.
“This had nothing to do with the peaceful protesters,” said a shoe-shop owner in Paris.
“These were organised groups who were breaking things and looting. We’d never seen anything like it.”
Opposition politicians questioned the government’s policing tactics, arguing that there had been a failure of state intelligence.
PHOTO CAPTION: Some buildings set ablaze by rioters.
