French government holds crisis talks after nationwide unrest
France’s government convened crisis talks after days of unrest culminated in burned public buildings, barricaded roads, torched cars and widespread looting. More than 2,000 people were arrested nationwide, including a record 855 in Paris, while about 600 police officers, firefighters and paramedics were injured. Traders’ unions said more than 1,500 shops and businesses were ransacked, causing tens of millions of euros in damage.
The violence was separate from largely peaceful marches by tens of thousands of students, parents, teachers and workers demanding more teachers, repairs to deteriorating schools, better-funded public services and relief from the high cost of living. Masked groups later attacked shops and state property in Paris, Bordeaux, Nice, Marseille and other cities. Limoges’s 19th-century town hall was burned down, while Marseille’s city hall and a police station were stormed. A 17-year-old boy lost his right hand to a crowd-control grenade in Saint-Étienne.
Opposition politicians from both left and right demanded Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez’s resignation, accusing the authorities of intelligence and policing failures. Emmanuel Macron, who is due to stand down next spring, said violence had no place in France and prepared to address the nation. Macron’s government and Marine Le Pen blamed “ultra-left” groups, while Jean-Luc Mélenchon argued that official failures had opened the way to chaos. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu rejected that claim and said the government would not be intimidated.
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