France
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Issued on: Modified:
42:13 min
From the show
Reading time 1 min
France didn't just erupt on Saturday – it exploded. Police were doubly overwhelmed by the turnout of the October 17 cost-of-living demonstrations, which saw two and-a-half times the crowds they expected. Officers were also overwhelmed by determined flashmobs: some radical militants hellbent on a fight, others who came for the looting. The whole world watched the assault on symbols of the Republic like the 19th-century city hall in Limoges, the usually quiet porcelain capital of France.
There's anger over rioting, but also over growing inequality, six months out from a presidential election where the extreme right and left have a huge lead in the polls.
What should the response be? How does President Emmanuel Macron's minority lame-duck government, with no money in the state coffers to throw at the problem, restore faith in leadership, institutions including the police – and democracy?
What message should be conveyed to France's youth, who sparked the movement to draw attention to deteriorating conditions in their schools? How to offer hope to the next generation?
Produced by Rebecca Gnignati, Elisa Amiri, Ilayda Habip.
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