(The Turkish Post) – President Emmanuel Macron condemned the France riots in a televised address to the nation on Oct. 18, saying nothing justified the violence and looting that swept dozens of cities, and vowing that those who attacked the Republic would be held to account.
The Interior Ministry said nearly 2,400 people were arrested across the country after cost-of-living marches on Oct. 17 gave way to a night of arson, looting and clashes with police. It was one of the worst bouts of urban unrest France has seen in years.
Macron responds to the France riots
Macron said he felt “anger and shame” at the scenes and that “nothing justifies” the unrest. He drew a line between demonstrators with legitimate grievances and the people who looted shops and set fires.
“Those who looted will have to pay for the damage, and those who sought to bring down the Republic will be held accountable,” the president said.
He said the state would be “uncompromising” toward what he called agitators from ultra-left fringe groups who had been joined by numerous delinquents. Macron also promised “full transparency” over how the police had responded, and asked the interior minister to draw lessons from the weekend, in particular on intelligence gathering.
Prefects allowed to ban rallies
Macron said local authorities, known as prefects, would be able to ban certain gatherings in the coming days if needed to keep public order. He stopped short of harsher measures such as a state of emergency or a curfew.
The president said a crisis unit would be set up to give urgent help to shopkeepers and businesses whose premises were damaged or looted. Interior Minister Laurent Nunez had put the national arrest figure close to 2,400, while Paris police said 855 people were detained in the capital region.
Whole streets in central Paris were left strewn with broken glass, burned bicycles and wrecked storefronts after the France riots. Shops were looted in Paris, Lyon and Marseille, cars were set alight, and in several cities demonstrators clashed with riot police who fired tear gas.
Cost of living drives the anger
The France riots grew out of nationwide protests on Oct. 17, when about 550,000 people marched against rising prices, according to the Interior Ministry. Organizers put the turnout at around 800,000. Students, trade unions and the revived Yellow Vests movement took part in the nationwide marches on Oct. 17.
Fuel and food prices in France have climbed since the war between the United States and Israel on one side and Iran on the other began earlier this year. The conflict pushed oil above $100 a barrel and raised inflation across Europe.
Macron said on Oct. 16, speaking at a summit of European Union leaders in Brussels, that there is a constitutional right to protest. Two days later he was addressing the country after that right, in his words, had been hijacked by rioters.
Opposition and Washington weigh in
Marine Le Pen, leader of the far-right National Rally, said the violence was a threat to democracy and accused what she called an exhausted Macronist power of losing control of the streets.
US President Donald Trump said on Oct. 18 that “France is burning” and blamed immigration for the unrest, a reading French officials rejected. Vice President JD Vance also linked the violence to immigration.
Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu, who took office in September, has blamed ultra-left groups for organizing the disorder and said criminals joined in to loot.
What comes next
The protest movement began with student demonstrations in mid-September and has fed on wider anger over wages, pensions and public services. The marches come about six months before the presidential election that will choose Macron’s successor, a vote in which the president cannot stand.
Unions and student groups behind the France riots had not announced a date for their next national day of action by the evening of Oct. 18. Prefects were preparing to decide which gatherings to allow in the days ahead.
