France riots: PM calls for local curfews as thousands arrested

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Violent protests over cost of living, declining public services leave cities devastated, force gathering bans

French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu said on Monday he had asked local authorities to ​impose partial curfews this evening following violent protests across the nation ‌during the weekend.

Lecornu told reporters he was “fully resolved to restoring public order” and that if declaring a state ​of emergency was deemed necessary “we could do so”, ​but added that at this stage partial ⁠curfews seemed “more appropriate”.

He did not say which cities ​would impose partial curfews nor what form they would ​take, although he excluded imposing a full curfew on the whole of Paris.

“These curfews must be local and partial. ​It is out of the question to put ​all of Paris under curfew.”

Interior Minister Laurent Nunez also told reporters ‌during ⁠the same press conference there were no plans to cancel Tuesday evening’s Paris Saint Germain versus Barcelona soccer match.

The mayors of France’s biggest cities on ​Monday demanded answers ​from the ⁠government to what they called a lack of preparation by security forces as ​the country licked its wounds from ​a weekend ⁠of rioting and looting.

France is reeling from some of its worst unrest in years after protests over rising living costs, fuel prices and deteriorating public services escalated into widespread rioting, looting and arson, leaving public buildings and businesses damaged across the country.

More than 2,300 people were placed in police custody over the weekend, while authorities imposed restrictions on gatherings, considered curfews and faced mounting criticism over their handling of the violence ahead of next year’s presidential election.

The scale of the destruction became clear in Limoges, where the 19th-century town hall was gutted by fire, leaving shattered glass and the skeletal remains of its Haussmannian roof. Its towering central spire eventually collapsed in flames, drawing cheers from a crowd, according to video footage.

For many residents, the destruction of the historic building in the central French city, known for its porcelain, represented an attack on the state itself.

“To attack her is to attack the republic,” Limoges Mayor Guillaume Guérin said in a post on X on Sunday.

Damage was reported across the country, not just in the capital. In Lyon, a tourist office building was burned, while storefronts near Bordeaux’s city hall were destroyed and goods appeared to have been stolen, according to social media videos geolocated by NBC News.

City halls in Marseille, Lille and Angers were also broken into, Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said, adding that the arrests made had little to do with the student protests that preceded the wider unrest.

In Paris, the Louvre Museum announced its closure after protesters called for a blockade of the iconic tourist attraction. Students also staged gatherings and blockades at Sciences Po university in central Paris.

French authorities reported thousands of arrests following the weekend’s violence. Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin said 2,331 people had been placed in police custody, with dozens remanded in pretrial detention, including 13 in Marseille.

The Interior Ministry reported that more than half a million people had taken part in demonstrations across France. Almost 1,000 police officers and firefighters were injured, according to the ministry.

France deployed 60,000 police officers and other security personnel on Saturday, Interior Minister Nuñez told France Inter radio. However, he acknowledged that the deployment had not been enough to control violent crowds in certain cities.

Authorities conceded that they had “lost control” in major urban centres. Nuñez offered his resignation to President Emmanuel Macron, but the president rejected it and instructed him to develop new measures to stop barricades and looting.

Macron’s office said the president had also demanded transparency over what he described as failures in intelligence and foresight that contributed to the violence.

Marseille, one of the cities hardest hit by the unrest, imposed a ban on public gatherings and demonstrations across the city on Monday from noon until 8pm local time.

The Bouches-du-Rhône police prefecture announced the restrictions under a prefectural order covering the entire city, according to French broadcaster BFMTV. The measure was intended to prevent further disorder following the violence and looting on October 17 and 18.

Interior Minister Nuñez was also expected to visit Marseille on Monday to assess the situation.

The city’s town hall near the Old Port was damaged after rioters entered the building, while businesses were looted and demonstrators clashed with security forces.

Separately, the northern town of Denain introduced a nighttime curfew for adults and minors. Mayor Anne-Lise Dufour-Tonini said it would apply nightly from 9pm to 6am between October 18 and October 25.

Speaking after a government crisis meeting on Monday, Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said he had asked some local authorities to introduce curfews. Macron had also directed prefects to coordinate with mayors to protect cities, including by banning particular gatherings when necessary.

The restrictions came as France began its school holidays, which appeared likely to provide the government with some immediate relief. However, further student gatherings and blockades were reported, while French unions called for another round of national strikes and demonstrations on November 5.

President Emmanuel Macron blamed “troublemakers from far-left fringe groups” for the violence, condemning the destruction in a televised address on Sunday.

“Watching these images, we all wondered how French people could do this to France,” he said. “Nothing justifies it, nothing explains it, nothing excuses it.”

Macron added that those who sought to bring down the Republic would be held accountable.

The government stopped short of declaring a state of emergency, despite demands from some right-wing politicians. Instead, it pursued local restrictions, police deployments and further security measures.

Political leaders across the spectrum traded accusations over the unrest. Macron’s centrist government blamed the far-left, while leading left-wing candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon held the incumbent administration responsible.

Marine Le Pen, the leading far-right presidential hopeful who leads polls ahead of the April election, described Macron’s administration as “exhausted, disoriented and seemingly incapable of doing anything other than commenting on its own powerlessness.”

The mayors of Paris, Marseille and Lyon, all from the centre-left, also demanded answers over what they described as inadequate security preparation.

In a joint opinion article published by Libération, they said they were accustomed to demonstrations but had felt that “whole sections of our cities had been left without protection” on Saturday.

The mayors said cities now needed to repair the damage and address the anger of residents who were shocked by the level of violence.

The unrest followed weeks of largely peaceful demonstrations, initially led by high school students demanding better classroom conditions.

Students had taken to the streets last month to highlight crumbling school infrastructure and insufficient teaching capacity. Their protests were met with a forceful police response, including the use of tear gas by riot officers.

The movement later expanded as trade unions, farmers, university students, retirees and Yellow Vest activists joined demonstrations over rising living costs, higher fuel and energy prices, declining purchasing power and concerns about public services.

Many demonstrators said public services had become dysfunctional, leaving citizens to cope with mounting financial pressures without adequate support.

Although protests are a familiar feature of French political life, the scale of the weekend’s violence was unusual. Peaceful marches in cities including Paris, Marseille and Lyon were disrupted by groups of rioters who looted shops, set fires, vandalised buildings and clashed with police.

The protests also reflected broader discontent with France’s economic performance, rising debt and the pressures facing Macron’s administration in the months leading up to the next presidential election.

Similar demonstrations over education and public services have taken place in Spain, Portugal and Albania, where young people have also taken to the streets in recent days.

The destruction has raised concerns about the economic impact of the unrest, with thousands of businesses affected by looting, vandalism and closures.

The president of CCI France estimated that more than 2,000 businesses would be directly affected, with damage running into hundreds of millions of euros.

In Paris, between 300 and 400 businesses were vandalised over the weekend, Dominique Restino, head of the Paris Chamber of Commerce, told BFM television.

At Place Vendôme, known for its luxury hotels and boutiques, many shops were closed and surrounded by security guards. A Dior boutique’s front door was smashed, while windows at stores belonging to luxury brands including Rolex, Louis Vuitton, Ralph Lauren and Gucci were damaged.

The unrest also affected Olympique de Marseille, whose official store on La Canebière, the city’s historic main avenue, was looted.

The Ligue 1 club condemned the incident on Monday, expressing solidarity with its partner Puma, which operates the store. It said the looting had caused significant property damage and forced the temporary closure of the outlet, although supporters could still visit the club’s other official stores in Marseille.

The club said it would inform fans when conditions allowed the damaged store to reopen. Marseille were ninth in Ligue 1 after seven matches and were scheduled to return to action on Thursday against Austrian side Sturm Graz in the Europa League.

Prime Minister Lecornu convened an interministerial crisis meeting on Monday to discuss support for businesses, insurance claims and subsequent legal proceedings.

The unrest prompted several European governments to advise their citizens in France to avoid demonstrations, stay away from large crowds and follow instructions from local authorities.

Italy: Italian authorities urged citizens to exercise extreme caution, avoid large crowds and register their presence in France through a website or app so they could be located if necessary.

Germany: The German Foreign Ministry warned that further riots could not be ruled out in the coming days. It advised nationals to follow police instructions and warned they could face fines or claims for damages if they failed to leave unauthorised demonstrations when ordered to do so.

Czech Republic: Czech citizens were advised to avoid demonstrations, marches and public gatherings. The Czech Foreign Ministry said the security situation in France had deteriorated, according to the CTK news agency.

Poland: Polish travel guidance advised visitors to stay away from areas where demonstrations were taking place, although the country made no change to its overall assessment of France as a travel destination.

Netherlands: Dutch authorities maintained advice, last updated on October 7, warning travellers to avoid protests.

Nordic countries: Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Norway issued advisories urging their citizens in France to avoid demonstrations and follow the instructions of local authorities.

The warnings reflected growing concern that the unrest could continue and disrupt public life, travel and business activity.

The violence has intensified an already difficult period for Macron’s centrist administration, which is in the final months of its current term and faces mounting economic and political pressures.

France’s debt has ballooned, economic growth has stagnated and social discontent has deepened. The crisis could create further opportunities for the far-right ahead of the presidential election, in which Le Pen is leading the polls.

The unrest also comes as the government needs to pass a budget bill intended to rein in public finances. Concerns over security failures and divisions within the administration could add to uncertainty among investors.

French financial markets underperformed broader European markets on Monday. The CAC 40 fell 1.3% in early trading, while a decline in bond prices pushed France’s 10-year government bond yield up eight basis points to 4.86%.

“The modest recovery in French spreads over the last week or so will be tested today,” Deutsche Bank analyst Jim Reid said in a note.

As authorities assessed the damage and considered further restrictions, the crisis exposed the challenge facing the government: restoring public order while responding to widespread frustration over living costs, education, public services and the country’s economic outlook.

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