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- Smashed shop windows and cars on fire — that’s what happened when protests unraveled in Paris on Saturday.
- Saturday’s chaos was an escalation in violence after weeks of demonstrations in the country.
- Students and workers alike have been taking to the streets to protest the cost of living.
A series of protests over the cost of living devolved into chaos and violence across France on Saturday.
Students had been taking to the streets in more than 40 French cities for a month, protesting what they say is underfunding in the education system. They were joined this weekend by yellow vest activists and workers angry about the cost of fuel, groceries, and other necessities.
Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said during a media briefing on Saturday that 110,000 protesters took to the streets in Paris and that 550,000 had turned out across France.
The Confédération Générale du Travail, France’s largest trade union and a supporter of the mass demonstrations, said those numbers were even higher, estimating nearly 800,000 nationwide.
What began as peaceful protests turned violent in central Paris and other parts of the country, devolving into looting and chaos across the city.
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Looting kicked off around the Place de la République in the French capital, where young people smashed their way through shop windows and made off with merchandise, the AFP reported.
The mob hit an SFR mobile phone store and other outlets that sold luxury goods and clothing.
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Franprix, Monoprix, Picard, and Carrefour City were among the grocery retailers looted in Paris, the AFP reported. In the 11th arrondissement, looters were seen leaving a Franprix filled with bags of juice, alcohol, and cakes, according to the AFP.
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The shopkeeper of a store near Place de la République named Cédric told RTL, a radio network in France, that he had barricaded himself inside his business in a bid to protect his goods.
“They’re smashing everything around us,” he told RTL, adding that he’d been a storekeeper in the area for 30 years. “They’ve destroyed my business. They’ve smashed my shop windows. They’re taking pieces of glass to throw at the riot police. They’re giving us the finger. They’re telling us they’re going to slit our throats. It’s just the apocalypse.”
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The AFP reported that looting took place in several French cities, including Marseille, Nice, Nantes, Bordeaux, Limoges, Lille, Toulouse and Strasbourg, where supermarkets, pharmacies, luxury boutiques, and electronics stores were raided and vandalized.
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Photos also showed luxury goods outlets — including the Galeries Lafayette — being looted.
Thierry Guibert, CEO of Lacoste, posted a statement on Instagram on Saturday about the “images of violence and destruction” he had seen from the protests.
“When our Lacoste and Aigle stores are looted, like so many other businesses across France, it’s not just shop windows that are smashed. It’s jobs, years of work, expertise, and the commitment of thousands of women and men that are jeopardized,” Guibert wrote.
“As a leader, I cannot bear to see what we have collectively built destroyed in this way. And I know that this concern is shared by many entrepreneurs and business owners throughout France,” he added.
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French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said late Saturday that authorities had arrested 1,200 people across the country following the day’s protests.
Lecornu also said that at least 150 police officers had been injured.
“Peaceful demonstrations have their rightful place in our Republic. Arson, looting, and attacks have no place whatsoever,” Lecornu wrote in a post on X on Saturday.
French President Emmanuel Macron said on X on Saturday that “those who have broken, attacked the prefectures, as well as businesses, looted even our town halls, will be prosecuted and punished.”