Protests against rising prices across France have turned violent, with anger over surging living and fuel costs spilling into looting and arson. Paris and other major cities were left paralyzed.
Rallies denouncing high prices were held at about 1,750 locations nationwide on the 17th, including Paris, Marseille, Lyon, Bordeaux and Lille. Organizers put turnout at 800,000, while police estimated 500,000. The protests began last month with students and were later joined by labor groups and veterans of the 2018 "yellow vest" movement. The unrest has added to political uncertainty in France ahead of the presidential election next April.
The demonstrations were peaceful at first but turned into riots in the afternoon as crowds converged on major shopping districts. The Galeries Lafayette department store in central Paris, luxury outlets including Celine and Dior, and electronics and retail stores became targets of mass looting.
Around Place Vendome and the Champs-Elysees, masked protesters clashed violently with police firing tear gas and water cannons. Paris Mayor Emmanuel Gregoire said city facilities had been systematically destroyed, causing extensive damage.
Arson attacks and assaults on public buildings also spread to major provincial cities. In the southwestern city of Limoges, a fire at the 143-year-old city hall caused severe damage, collapsing the roof and destroying part of the exterior walls. In Lyon, a tourist information center was burned.
In Marseille and Lille, protesters broke into city hall buildings and smashed interior facilities. A police station was also damaged in Marseille. Dozens of stores in the two cities, including Hermes outlets and an Apple Store, were confirmed looted.
France's interior ministry said attacks and attempted looting targeting public institutions and media companies were also reported in Toulouse, Grenoble and Angers, and that about 400 people had been arrested nationwide so far.
As the situation escalated, President Emmanuel Macron said vandalism and acts of violence would be punished strictly. Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu also stressed that the government would maintain public order in the face of extreme violence.
Politicians clashed over the nature of the protests. Jean-Luc Melenchon, leader of the far-left France Unbowed (LFI), appeared at protest sites to rally supporters. Marine Le Pen, a lawmaker for the National Rally (RN) who leads in presidential polls, sharply criticized the far left, saying it was holding legitimate social demands hostage to incite disorder.