Key Highlights

  • About 550,000 people marched across France on Saturday, and almost 2,400 were arrested after demonstrations turned violent.
  • The interior ministry said nearly 1,000 police officers and gendarmes were injured while several hundred shops sustained considerable damage.
  • Macron promised an uncompromising response and gave prefects and mayors power to ban gatherings, but declared no state of emergency.
  • The unrest comes before Tuesday’s vote on the first part of a 2027 budget seeking EUR 54 billion in savings.

A Weekend of Riots

France endured its worst unrest in years this weekend as nationwide protests over living costs and declining public services turned violent. About 550,000 people marched in scores of cities on Saturday, including 110,000 in Paris, authorities said. The latest wave followed a month-long student movement over teacher shortages and school conditions, with broader anger from unions.

Hundreds of thousands protested peacefully, but violent fringe groups targeted public buildings, looted shops and attacked police. The interior ministry reported almost 2,400 arrests and nearly 1,000 injured police officers and gendarmes. A protester died of cardiac arrest during the Paris demonstrations, police said. On Sunday afternoon, police fired tear gas and stun grenades to break up a rally at Place de la République, where bicycles were set on fire.

Town Halls and Shops Targeted

The 143-year-old town hall in Limoges, in central France, was set ablaze and largely destroyed after looters broke a window in an arson attack. The mayor described a clear, premeditated intention to burn the building while people were inside. Protesters forced their way into Marseille’s city hall, and a tourist office in Lyon was set on fire.

Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said several hundred shops sustained considerable material damage. The mayor of Bordeaux said up to 100 stores in the city were looted. Business losses are running to hundreds of millions of euros.

Economy Minister Roland Lescure promised government support for business owners who suffered losses. He said those who break things must pay to repair the damage and answer for their intention to sow chaos.

Macron’s Response

In a televised address on Sunday evening, President Emmanuel Macron asked: “How can French people do this to France?” He said nothing justifies, explains or excuses it. He pledged an uncompromising response to agitators from ultra-left fringe groups, joined by numerous delinquents.

He stopped short of declaring a state of emergency or imposing a curfew, but said prefects and mayors are now allowed to ban certain gatherings where needed to protect public buildings and local businesses.

Macron also ordered a review of whether there were failings in intelligence gathering or police preparedness. He asked the government to bring together students, teachers, lawmakers, unions and business leaders this week to produce concrete proposals. His final months in office are increasingly defined by political, fiscal and social discontent.

The Budget Vote and the Debt Burden

The unrest comes as Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu’s minority government seeks EUR 54 billion (USD 61 billion) of fiscal savings in its 2027 budget. The National Assembly is due to hold a formal vote on the first part of the bill on Tuesday.

France has struggled in recent years to rein in spending. Its debt reached a record EUR 3.6 trillion in the second quarter, or 119 percent of GDP, and is becoming more expensive to service as interest rates rise across the world.

French assets fell on Monday as markets reacted to the weekend. The 10-year government bond yield jumped more than 10 basis points to just short of its highest level in decades, and the CAC 40 stock index fell 1.7 percent in afternoon trading. Investors are focused on whether the minority government can pass the budget and set out a credible path to reduce the deficit.

Opposition Leaders React

Far-right leader Marine Le Pen, the frontrunner for next year’s presidential campaign, said the weekend showed that Macron’s government is running on fumes, exhausted and disoriented.

Far-left leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon, who is also running for president, said Macron needs to answer the demands of protesting high-school students. He warned that the country is heading toward events that eventually become uncontrollable.