Authorities raised arrest and injury totals Sunday as cities cleaned damaged streets and President Emmanuel Macron ordered a review of security preparations.
PARIS, France — France began counting the cost of widespread rioting and looting Sunday after mass demonstrations over living costs and public services turned violent in several cities, leaving public buildings damaged, shops ransacked and more than 2,000 people arrested as authorities faced questions over how the unrest was handled.
The violence followed nationwide demonstrations Saturday that drew about 550,000 people according to the government and roughly 800,000 according to organizers. Most participants marched peacefully, but smaller groups clashed with police, set fires, damaged public property and broke into businesses in Paris, Marseille, Lyon, Bordeaux, Limoges and other cities. The unrest continued in parts of Paris on Sunday, when police again used tear gas around Place de la République.
Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said the nationwide arrest count had risen above 2,000 by Sunday and that more than 600 police officers had been injured. Those figures were higher than earlier counts released as authorities processed arrests and injury reports. Paris police said hundreds of people were arrested in the capital region alone. One demonstrator died after suffering cardiac arrest during the Paris march, police said, and prosecutors were examining the circumstances.
Some of the most serious damage occurred in Limoges, where the 19th-century City Hall was largely destroyed by a fire that authorities said was deliberately set after people entered the building. Mayor Guillaume Guérin said people were inside at the time and called for financial help to restore the structure. Public buildings were also targeted elsewhere. Protesters briefly entered the lobby of Marseille City Hall, while a tourist office in Lyon caught fire and government property in Bordeaux was damaged.
In Paris, municipal workers and business owners spent Sunday clearing broken glass, burned debris and damaged street furniture. The area around Place de la République was among the hardest hit. Shops in several commercial districts were broken into or vandalized, and police said organized violent groups were later joined by people who took advantage of the disorder to loot stores. Damage was also reported at supermarkets, clothing stores and other retailers in cities across the country.
Retail groups said the effects extended well beyond the stores that were visibly looted. Alexandre Bompard, president of France’s main commerce and distribution federation and chief executive of Carrefour, said about 1,500 businesses had been directly affected nationwide and that total losses could reach hundreds of millions of euros. Carrefour alone reported damage at dozens of locations. Local governments and national officials began discussing emergency assistance for businesses and municipalities facing repair costs.
Macron addressed the country Sunday evening after meeting senior officials about the unrest. He condemned the destruction and said people responsible for looting and attacks on public institutions would be held accountable. He also ordered a review of whether intelligence gathering or police preparations failed before the demonstrations. The president said prefects and mayors would be able to restrict certain gatherings when officials judge that public buildings, businesses or residents face serious risks.
The government’s account separates the hundreds of thousands of peaceful demonstrators from groups it blames for the violence. Nuñez and Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu have attributed much of the organized confrontation to radical far-left and ultra-left groups, along with criminals who joined later to loot. French authorities have not linked the rioting to immigration. Political opponents, meanwhile, have challenged the government’s handling of the demonstrations and the police deployment used to contain them.
The protests grew from a monthlong student movement over school conditions and teacher shortages into a broader expression of anger over rising living costs, inequality and declining public services. Labor groups and activists associated with the earlier yellow vest movement also joined Saturday’s demonstrations. That wider coalition helped produce one of the largest days of protest in France this year, even as the violence at the edges of the marches came to dominate the immediate aftermath.
The government now faces two parallel pressures: repairing damage and restoring public order while responding to the grievances that brought hundreds of thousands of people into the streets. Macron said he had asked the government to bring students, teachers, lawmakers, unions and business representatives together during the coming week to develop proposals. Investigations into the fires, looting, assaults and other offenses were continuing Sunday.
Author note: Last updated October 18, 2026.