France Reeling From Cost-of-Living Riots as 1,800 Arrested

France was assessing extensive damage following violent nationwide protests on Oct. 17 over the cost of living, which saw 1,800 people arrested and 500 security personnel injured. Demonstrations drawing between 550,000 and 800,000 participants turned destructive on the margins, resulting in the arson of Limoges’ 19th-century town hall, widespread looting of 1,500 businesses with damages in the hundreds of millions of euros, and a severed hand sustained by a 17-year-old from a tear gas grenade. The crisis prompted President Emmanuel Macron to schedule an address to the nation as Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu convened a crisis cabinet session amid heated political disputes between Marine Le Pen and Jean-Luc Mélenchon ahead of upcoming elections.