Violence broke out in various parts of France on Saturday (17\nOctober) during the latest wave of demonstrations protesting difficult\nconditions in schools and the high cost of living.<\/p>\n
At least 1,200 people were arrested in what the French government\ncalled an \u201cescalation of violence\u201d, while an estimated 550,000 people\ntook to the streets.<\/p>\n
In Paris, major clashes between demonstrators and police continued\ninto the evening. Police used tear gas and water cannon to disperse the\ncrowds.<\/p>\n
Buildings were set on fire in the French capital and elsewhere. In\nLimoges, a major fire at the town hall caused part of the roof to\ncollapse.<\/p>\n
Looting was also reported in several cities, alongside reports of\nwidespread vandalism targeting town halls and commercial buildings.<\/p>\n
French Prime Minister S\u00e9bastien Lecornu said 150 police officers were\ninjured in the rioting.<\/p>\n
In response, French President Emmanuel Macron insisted that \u201cthere is\nno place for violence\u201d in the country.<\/p>\n
In Paris, demonstrations during the day appeared relatively peaceful.\nA group of young people told the BBC they were \u201cpacifists\u201d who \u201cjust\nwant to push for change, but nothing is moving\u201d.<\/p>\n
As the day went on, however, some groups began lighting fires in the\nstreets and setting vehicles alight, including at iconic locations in\nthe city centre such as Place de la R\u00e9publique.<\/p>\n
Several shops were looted, at least one restaurant was gutted by\nfire, and the BBC witnessed clashes break out between groups of\ndemonstrators.<\/p>\n
Police were also seen charging a crowd in central Paris and striking\nseveral people with batons.<\/p>\n
In Lyon, Mayor Gr\u00e9gory Doucet called the burning of the city\u2019s\ntourist office a \u201ctragedy\u201d for Lyon.<\/p>\n
Speaking to BFMTV, he said: \u201cThis breaks our hearts because this is a\nvery iconic historic building, widely known.\u201d<\/p>\n
Local police said some \u201chostile individuals\u201d prevented firefighters\nfrom tackling the blaze safely.<\/p>\n
Firefighters also struggled to put out a fire at Limoges town hall.\nThe local prefecture said the blaze caused part of the building to\ncollapse.<\/p>\n
During the unrest, a young person\u2019s hand was also reportedly \u201cblown\noff by a grenade explosion\u201d in Saint-\u00c9tienne, said the city\u2019s mayor,\nR\u00e9gis Juanico, on social media.<\/p>\n
He added that the tragedy \u201cshould never have happened\u201d.<\/p>\n
France\u2019s Interior Ministry said the protests were marked by\n\u201cdeliberate acts of violence\u201d by \u201chooded individuals\u201d in several\nlocations, including parts of Paris and cities such as Marseille,\nRennes, Toulouse and Angers.<\/p>\n
Damage to buildings was also reported across France, including in\nGrenoble, Avignon, Pau, Montpellier and Valence.<\/p>\n
In Paris, several clothing and grocery shops were looted. An\nApple-branded shop in Lille was also broken into and stripped of its\ncontents.<\/p>\n
Video footage verified by BBC Verify showed a tourist train in\nGrenoble being driven by masked men along a narrow street in the city\ncentre and towards at least three police officers.<\/p>\n
Hundreds of thousands of pupils have protested in recent weeks\nagainst staff shortages and poor facilities at lyc\u00e9es, secondary schools\nfor pupils aged 15 to 18.<\/p>\n
They were later joined by trade union members and other protest\ngroups.<\/p>\n
These included the Gilets Jaunes, or Yellow Vests, a movement that\nhas protested against rising living costs for more than a year since\n2018 and became one of the longest-running protest movements in French\nhistory.<\/p>\n
Although France is no stranger to waves of protest and rioting, the\nlatest demonstrations come as the country enters a period of deep\npolitical uncertainty.<\/p>\n
French President Emmanuel Macron is due to leave office next year.\nOpinion polls suggest that April\u2019s presidential election could become a\ncontest between National Rally leader Marine Le Pen and radical\nleft-wing figure Jean-Luc M\u00e9lenchon of La France Insoumise.<\/p>\n
M\u00e9lenchon took part in demonstrations in France and later accused\npolice of \u201cattacking\u201d protesters.<\/p>\n
At the same time, however, he condemned the looting and arson during\nthe demonstrations.<\/p>\n
Prime Minister S\u00e9bastien Lecornu called M\u00e9lenchon\u2019s remarks\n\u201cdangerous and cynical\u201d.<\/p>\n
Earlier, Lecornu said police were facing \u201cviolence of very high\nintensity\u201d and accused some groups of using the protests as a \u201cwarm-up\u201d\nahead of the presidential election.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo one will impose their political agenda through violence,\u201d he\nadded.<\/p>\n
Marine Le Pen said the demonstrators\u2019 \u201clegitimate demands\u201d had been\n\u201cheld hostage by the radical left\u201d. She accused M\u00e9lenchon of helping to\nfuel the violence.<\/p>\n
The government has sought to ease public anger by offering\nconcessions. In a television interview on 8 October, Education Minister\n\u00c9douard Geffray promised 3,000 additional substitute teachers to help\naddress staffing shortages in schools.<\/p>\n
The protests have nevertheless continued.<\/p>\n
In a social media post, President Emmanuel Macron said those who had\n\u201cdamaged and attacked\u201d prefecture offices and shops, and \u201clooted\u201d town\nhalls, would be \u201cprosecuted and punished\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will all stand united against those spreading chaos, who are only\nseeking to undermine our institutions and prevent those making their\ndemands peacefully from doing so,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Interior Minister Laurent Nu\u00f1ez said in a televised address that\npolice had helped ensure demonstrations remained peaceful by arresting\nprotesters who resorted to violence.<\/p>\n
Nu\u00f1ez criticised \u201cfar-left\u201d figures who, he said, were \u201copenly\ncalling for insurrection\u201d. He said they must be held responsible for the\ndisorder on French streets on Saturday.<\/p>\n
The French General Confederation of Labour (CGT) described the latest\nwave of demonstrations as \u201ca new stage in the mobilisation\u201d and said the\ngovernment \u201cmust respond immediately to public demands\u201d, without\ndelay.<\/p>\n
Among the demands put to the Emmanuel Macron government by the CGT\nare higher wages and pensions, as well as the reintroduction of a wealth\ntax for affluent citizens.<\/p>\n
The CGT also \u201ccalled for peaceful mobilisation with young people to\ncontinue\u201d in the coming days. The actions are planned to culminate in a\n\u201cmajor inter-union strike day\u201d on 5 November.<\/p>\n
BBC Paris correspondent Hugh Schofield said there was a clear\ndistinction between the official demonstration from Place de la\nR\u00e9publique to Place de Clichy and the incidents at various other\nlocations in the French capital.<\/p>\n
He said the main march \u201cappeared peaceful\u201d. But across Paris, small\ngroups of demonstrators were moving around, some of whom were clearly\nintent on provoking unrest.<\/p>\n
That was the situation at least in the early hours of the\ndemonstrations. As time went on, however, conditions became increasingly\nchaotic and violent.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is reminiscent of the early days of the Yellow Vest movement\neight years ago, when violence by small, uncontrolled groups proved too\ndifficult for the police to contain,\u201d Schofield said.<\/p>\n
The pattern, he said, was a largely peaceful mass demonstration\novershadowed by smaller groups operating separately and engaging in\nvandalism, looting and clashes with security forces.<\/p>\n
In Toulon, in southern France, local authorities said \u201cseveral acts\nof violence\u201d occurred at the front of the march.<\/p>\n
Two police officers were injured by objects thrown at them.\nAuthorities also said some \u201cviolent individuals\u201d dismantled barriers at\na Christmas market and used them to attack police.<\/p>\n
Violence was also reported on the sidelines of demonstrations in\nCaen, in Normandy. Local authorities said several groups were involved\nin \u201clooting and acts of vandalism\u201d.<\/p>\n
They threw stones and spray-painted public buildings in the city.\nAuthorities also said the perpetrators used a road roller to break\nthrough police barricades and damage two police vehicles.<\/p>\n
Is this an ordinary protest or something more serious?<\/p>\n
Analysis by Hugh Schofield, BBC Paris correspondent<\/p>\n
The question to ask about the wave of protests in France is whether\nthis is simply the latest version of the country\u2019s familiar tradition of\nstreet demonstrations, or whether something deeper and more significant\nis happening.<\/p>\n
In many respects, the movement looks much like those seen repeatedly\nbefore: a source of anger, marches, vandalism, tear gas, arrests and\nallegations of police violence.<\/p>\n
It is like a performance with familiar scenes and an ending that\narrives when everyone has had enough. Almost every autumn in France, an\nissue emerges that produces a similar pattern.<\/p>\n
But is there something different this time? Could the period of\n2026\u201327 become a defining moment in history, like May 1968, the Paris\nCommune of 1870 or the social revolutions across Europe in 1848, when\nwaves of protest brought about major change?<\/p>\n
There are arguments in favour of that view.<\/p>\n
The centrist French government has been unable to act effectively.\nThe radical experiment in Macronism that has lasted a decade has failed.\nThere is widespread disillusionment with politics as it has been\npractised.<\/p>\n
There is a debt crisis which, some serious observers say, could push\nFrance into default. Inflation has made people poorer.<\/p>\n
Political groups at the extremes are growing stronger. There is war\nin Europe. There is Donald Trump. And there is the French presidential\nelection in April and May.<\/p>\n
The world is in a highly unstable state.<\/p>\n
Everything is changing.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/french-protests-end-in-arson-and-looting-with-provocateurs-suspected-1792381857", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }