France protest arrests top 2,000 as Paris clashes flare

Police fired tear gas again at Paris's Place de la République on Sunday, Oct. 18, a day after nationwide protests over living costs and school conditions turned into some of the worst riots France has seen in years. Several hundred people answered online calls to gather in the square. Some threw bottles and rocks, and police answered with tear gas and stun grenades before charging the crowd, Le Monde reported. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez first said about 1,800 people had been arrested over Saturday's violence, according to AFP. He later raised the count to more than 2,000 arrests and more than 600 officers injured, Reuters reported.amp.dw.com+2

President Emmanuel Macron will hold an emergency meeting with top officials before he addresses the nation at 8 p.m. Paris time, the AP reported.afp.com

A town hall lost

The interior ministry put turnout on Saturday at 550,000, while the CGT union counted 800,000, DW reported. Paris police made a record 855 arrests. Hundreds of businesses were looted in Marseille, Lyon, Bordeaux, Strasbourg, Nice and other cities, NPR reported. One person died of a heart attack during the Paris march. In Saint-Étienne, a 17-year-old lost a hand to a police crowd-control grenade, France 24 reported.amp.dw.com+2

In Limoges, a fire destroyed most of the 143-year-old town hall. "The roof has collapsed on to lower floors, except the west wing," said prefect Maurice Barate, who called the loss a "catastrophe for heritage," The Irish Times reported. Mayor Guillaume Guerin told Reuters the attack was premeditated and said he would resign if the city did not get money to rebuild, according to Reuters.irishtimes.com+1

The Retail and Trade Federation says about 1,500 businesses were damaged, with losses in the hundreds of millions of euros, France 24 reported. Carrefour said 50 of its stores were damaged, per Reuters.france24.com+1

Politicians trade blame

Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu and Nuñez blamed "radical far-left groups" and said others joined later to loot, NPR reported. Far-right leader Marine Le Pen said Jean-Luc Mélenchon's party had "legitimized the violence." Mélenchon, who had backed the protests, told demonstrators that looting was "contrary to our methods," DW reported. National Rally president Jordan Bardella said France had been "humiliated" and called on Macron to resign, Reuters reported.npr.org+2

The movement started last month in high schools in Paris's poorer suburbs, over teacher absences and run-down buildings. It then grew into broader anger over inequality and public spending, The Independent reported. Lecornu will chair a crisis meeting of ministers on Monday, Oct. 19, AA reported, ahead of a presidential election due next year.independent.co.uk+1

"To those who clearly want to use this violence as a 'warm-up' before the presidential election, I say clearly: We will not let ourselves be intimidated," Lecornu wrote on X, The Independent reported.independent.co.uk