France Rocked by Widespread Protests, Over 1,200 Arrested

Shopfronts were smashed, stores looted. Some owners reported damages and stolen goods totaling €100,000. Buildings were set alight, and both police and protesters sustained injuries.

One demonstrator died from cardiac arrest. Thirteen police and gendarmerie officers, alongside two firefighters, also suffered injuries.

Rising costs for essentials like food, rent, and electricity, coupled with ongoing issues in public services, particularly education, fueled the demonstrations. Petrol prices reached a record high of €2.4 per liter last month.

The Macron government pushes an austerity budget that includes €54bn in cuts. Students protest for more school funding, citing a lack of teachers, insufficient SEND provision, facilities in disrepair, and alleged bias against students from poorer areas.

Students indicated that Students protest for more school funding, citing a lack of teachers, insufficient SEND provision, facilities in disrepair, and alleged bias against students from poorer areas.

Police deployed teargas and stun grenades against protesters. Separately, different groups engaged in gatherings, burning, barricading streets, and clashing with police in cities including Paris, Bordeaux, Nice, and Marseille.

In Marseille, protesters entered City Hall, and a police station sustained damage. The clock tower at Limoges town hall was engulfed in flames before collapsing following an apparent arson attack.

A fire broke out inside a tourist office in Lyon. Far-right identitarian activists attacked peaceful trade unionists in Rouen.

A 17-year-old boy lost his right hand after an incident involving a crowd-control grenade in Saint-Étienne. A 16-year-old boy was shot in the eye with a rubber bullet by police in Tours, blinding him.

The government held crisis talks on Sunday following days of violent unrest across the country.