‘Like we had a war’: France counts cost of violent protests

The Hindu – International

You are logged in

Loading…

You don’t have any Active Subscription.

Subscribed with another email? Logout and Login with that one.

Your active subscription(s)

Account subscription benefits alongside Premium Stories, Editorials,
Opinions and more. Unlock these with Subscription

Products you’ve access to

Additional Subscription Benefits

Account Settings

Need help with your subscription?

Weather News October 18, 2026 e-Paper

The View From India
Looking at World Affairs from the Indian perspective.

First Day First Show
News and reviews from the world of cinema and streaming.

Today's Cache
Your download of the top 5 technology stories of the day.

Science For All
The weekly newsletter from science writers takes the jargon out of science and puts the fun in!

Data Point
Decoding the headlines with facts, figures, and numbers

THEdge
At the cutting edge of education and careers

Health Matters
Ramya Kannan writes to you on getting to good health, and staying there

Gender Agenda
Stories from beyond the binary.

The Hindu On Books
Books of the week, reviews, excerpts, new titles and features.

Weather News October 18, 2026 e-Paper

Published – October 18, 2026 07:18 pm IST – Paris, France

Debris on the side of a street, the day after clashes during a national day of demonstrations against the cost of living and rising fuel prices, in Paris, France, on October 18, 2026.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

France was reeling on Sunday (October 18, 2026) from widespread damage caused by violent protests the day before that saw 1,800 people arrested, a historic town hall torched and widespread looting.

Also read | French unions say 480,000 people took part in pro-student protests

“It’s like we had a war,” a 78-year-old resident in central Paris, Mehmet Ozeden, told AFP amid burnt street barricades from the protests.

The convulsion raised the stakes for President Emmanuel Macron, who is in his final months in power before elections to replace him in six months’ time. It followed weeks of student protests that had also turned violent at times.

Mr. Macron was to address the nation Sunday (October 18) at 6 p.m. GMT, his office said, after meeting key ministers.

Interior Minister Laurent Núñez said 1,800 people were arrested over the protests and looting, with investigations under way “to identify the perpetrators of these acts so they can be brought to justice”.

Torched cars, smashed shopfronts and burnt debris scarred numerous streets in Paris, where officials said 557 people were in custody after a “record” number of arrests.

The capital experienced “a level of violence that we have never, I believe, seen before”, said Paris deputy mayor Lamia El Aaraje.

Hundreds of shops were looted in Paris and other cities, including Marseille, Bordeaux, Nice and Strasbourg, during the protests over the cost of living.

One person died during the main march in Paris, but officials said it was health-related and not linked to the protest violence.

Around 1,500 businesses were damaged, causing losses estimated in the hundreds of millions of euros, according to the Retail and Trade Federation.

One Paris resident, Anita Gras, out for a jog between the debris, said she saw young men loot a sports shoe retailer.

“They stayed until 1:00 a.m., we were afraid they were going to throw things at us,” she said.

“It’s appalling, terrifying — groups of young people came here yesterday [October 17], looting, smashing everything, with total impunity,” said another resident, 57-year-old Cecile Rogue, surveying a pile of charred bicycles.

The city of Limoges lost its 19 th -century town hall to a fire. The local prefect, Maurice Barate, told news channel LCI it had been deliberately set by “a wild horde” and was only brought under control early Sunday (October 18).

The mayor of Lyon, Gregory Doucet, said “the chaos that reigned in the city for several hours was abominable”.

A tourist office in the centre of Lyon was set ablaze during the protests, which saw multiple clashes and looting.

Political recriminations have followed, with the government and far-right leader Marine Le Pen blaming ultra-left groups, while far-left leader Jean-Luc Melenchon accused authorities of inflaming tensions.

Paris’s Socialist deputy mayor El Aaraje accused Le Pen’s party of “acting like a pyromaniac firefighter”, using the protests to further her presidential ambitions.

U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance also waded in, implying on X that the unrest was because France had “imported the third world”.

French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu was to chair a crisis meeting of ministers at 8 a.m. GMT on Monday (October 19), his office said. They were to look at the insurance and help for impacted shops as well as the prosecution of perpetrators of the violence.

In Paris, startled tourists were seen Saturday (October 17) running with suitcases along streets filled with tear gas and protesters.

A Danish tourist, Soren Petersen, said it was “sad” to see damage to Paris buildings. “It is not a protest, it’s far beyond a normal protest,” he told AFP.

An American tourist, Jill Burns, said “we were scared”.

Around 500 police, firefighters and paramedics were hurt in the protests, the Interior Minister said.

The violence took place on the sidelines of nationwide protests that the interior ministry said were attended by 550,000 people. The CGT union said 800,000 people participated.

A 17-year-old boy had his right hand blown off by a crowd-control grenade in the southern city of Saint-Etienne.

Analyst Mujtaba Rahman of the Eurasia Group think tank said on X that most of the demonstrations Saturday (October 17) were peaceful, and “the violence came from a fringe of the ultra left” with looting “by opportunistic gangs from the poor suburbs”.

“All good news for Marine Le Pen,” he said.

France’s Yellow Vest movement, which staged street protests eight years ago against Mr. Macron’s government over planned fuel-tax hikes, had called Saturday’s (October 17) “yellow and youth” demonstrations.

The principal grievance was the cost of living, pushed up in part by the war in West Asia, which has helped send inflation soaring in Europe as elsewhere.

Published – October 18, 2026 07:18 pm IST

France

/

protest

Terms & conditions | Institutional Subscriber

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.

Fonte: The Hindu – International