French President Emmanuel Macron will deliver a statement today at 8:00 p.m. local time (9:00 p.m. Cyprus time), his office announced a short while ago.
With the country having suffered the death of one protester and the maiming of another, as well as widespread destruction, Macron will address the French people as protests continue in many cities.
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
The address is eagerly anticipated as it comes in the wake of yesterday’s massive protests against rising prices and other social demands, which were marred by violent clashes.
The day dawned with scenes of destruction on the streets of France’s major cities, the day after hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets with social demands, which were overshadowed by violent clashes, looting, and scenes of chaos the country hadn’t experienced in years.
While hundreds of thousands of people protested peacefully in dozens of cities, hooded rioters targeted public buildings, looted stores, and attacked police officers. The toll: one dead protester and hundreds of injured police officers.
According to the latest update, Interior Minister Laurent Nunes reported more than 1,800 arrests across France. “At this stage, more than 500 police officers, gendarmes, and firefighters have been injured while facing these scenes of violence,” the minister added, referring to a “preliminary” tally. The minister plans to travel to Marseille tomorrow, where many businesses were looted.
“Like a war zone”
Scenes of rioting, at times accompanied by cries of “Revolution,” appeared more intense and widespread than the riots that swept France in 2023, as well as the Yellow Vest protests of 2018–2019, according to Agence France-Presse reporters.
In many cities, hundreds of public buildings and businesses were targeted, leaving entire streets littered with debris and burned-out motorcycles.
Symbols of the French Republic were attacked: In Marseille, Lille, Angers, and Bordeaux, protesters stormed city halls and prefectures, vandalizing them.
In Lyon, a tourist office was the target of an arson attack. In Limoges, the 19th-century city hall was set on fire by protesters and largely destroyed. “The fire was set deliberately,” alleged Maurice Barrat, a spokesperson for the authorities, stating that a “savage mob” was responsible for the fire, which caused very serious damage to the 19th-century building as well as extensive damage to the city itself.
A massive cleanup operation has begun in cities from Lille to Marseille, and from Strasbourg in the east to Bordeaux in the southwest—where a crowd of hooded individuals broke into the home of the local prefect.
Bordeaux Mayor Thomas Casenave noted that as many as 100 stores were looted in his city.
In Marseille, hooded individuals broke into City Hall and scrawled anarchist slogans on the walls, while in Lyon, a tourist office was the target of an arson attack. The city’s mayor, Benoît Payan, announced emergency financial aid to support businesses affected by the violence.
With their phones in hand, many Lyon residents walked through the city’s shopping streets early in the morning, taking photos of countless shattered storefronts and piles of debris on the ground.
“It was like a war zone,” said Jean Christian, a shop owner in Lyon who took refuge in the back of his store as rioters passed by. “They were behaving like animals. We saw them smashing things—men full of adrenaline.”
According to the French Federation of Commerce and Distribution, 1,500 businesses suffered damage, and the cost of the damage amounts to hundreds of millions of euros. “The public funds used to cover up the traces of this damage cannot be allocated to other priorities,” said the mayor of Angers.
In the capital, “entire streets were methodically destroyed,” according to Socialist Mayor Emmanuel Grégoire. In Paris, 855 people were arrested yesterday, a “record number,” local police announced today. More than 500 people are in custody, including 171 minors, according to the Paris prosecutor’s office, which reported that arrests continued until around 6:00 a.m. this morning.
While the main march of 110,000 people took place “without serious incidents” in Paris, the police accused “violent groups, particularly from the far left, who attempted to block streets, organized unauthorized marches,” and “engaged in looting.”
After weeks of student mobilization, the organizers of this day of action aimed to forge a “convergence of struggles” with the former Yellow Vests movement, against the backdrop of rising fuel prices, the cost of living, and the demands of high school and college students for better educational conditions.
According to Interior Minister Laurent Nunes, 550,000 people participated in the demonstrations, while organizers put the number at 800,000 (yellow vests, high school and college students, workers, climate activists, and “anti-fascists”).
“Seeds of Chaos”
Faced with a tense social climate as the presidential election approaches and weakened by the lack of a parliamentary majority, the government has pledged to take a firm stance against those responsible for the riots.
“Those who vandalized, attacked prefectures and businesses, and even looted our town halls will be prosecuted and punished,” President Emmanuel Macron told X. “We will all stand united against those who sow chaos, who seek only to destroy our institutions.”
“It’s a miracle we didn’t have more deaths,” said Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu. As the violence continued late into the night, particularly in Paris, the economic cost of the damage “will be heavy, throughout the country,” he warned.
At the same time, he called on Jean-Luc Mélenchon, leader of the radical left-wing party “Unbowed France” (LFI)—who has been criticized for supporting the movement—to “choose a side” between “this Republic, and therefore the law enforcement authorities” and “that of the vandals.”
“The speeches by Mélenchon’s lawmakers, which legitimize violence, view order as oppression and riots as a right, seek to plunge the country into chaos,” replied Marine Le Pen, leader of the far-right National Rally party.
Mélenchon, who protested in the streets of Paris, argued that “those who share” his cause “have nothing to do with looting and vandalism.” He accused the prime minister of “played with fire, counting on the situation to escalate” and once again criticized the policing strategy implemented by the authorities, particularly in Paris.
Six months before the presidential election, the social unrest has also become a political battleground between Mélenchon and Le Pen, the two presidential candidates who, according to recent polls, may face off in the second round.
Source: CNN.gr
