{"id":9706,"date":"2026-10-18T23:28:34","date_gmt":"2026-10-18T23:28:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=9706"},"modified":"2026-10-18T23:28:34","modified_gmt":"2026-10-18T23:28:34","slug":"macron-condemns-those-who-sought-to-bring-down-republic-after-rioting-mars-nationwide-protests","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=9706","title":{"rendered":"Macron condemns those who ‘sought to bring down Republic’ after rioting mars nationwide protests"},"content":{"rendered":"
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France’s President Emmanuel Macron reacts as he chairs an Interministerial Crisis Meeting at the Elysee Presidential Palace, in Paris, France, Oct. 18, the day after riots and looting on the sidelines of nationwide protests against the high cost of living. EPA-Yonhap<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

PARIS \u2014 French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday voiced the public\u2019s \u201canger\u201d and \u201cshame\u201d over rioting and looting during nationwide protests against rising living costs and poor conditions in schools . At least 2,400 people were arrested.<\/p>\n

Macron echoed other government officials in blaming much of the violence on far-left activists, accusing them of attacking police and public buildings to foment chaos.<\/p>\n

\u201cThose who looted will have to pay for the damage, and those who sought to bring down the Republic will be held accountable,\u201d Macron said in a televised address to the nation.<\/p>\n

He denounced \u201cunrestrained violence\u201d by \u201cinsurrectionist elements from radical far-left groups, joined by numerous criminals.\u201d<\/p>\n

Macron earlier held an emergency meeting with senior government officials, a day after masked groups set fires and attacked city halls in several cities. He said he had instructed prefects to work with mayors to protect public buildings and businesses in the coming weeks, including by banning protests when necessary.<\/p>\n

Flames engulfed the 19th-century City Hall in the city of Limoges, in central France, causing its roof to collapse and nearly destroying the building.<\/p>\n

New tensions erupted in Paris on Sunday<\/strong><\/p>\n

In Paris, hundreds of protesters gathered again on Sunday at the Place de la R\u00e9publique amid a heavy police presence. Officers used tear gas as tensions flared sporadically in the neighborhood, with small groups of people trying to set bicycles and trash bins on fire.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe right to protest is a fundamental right. Deliberately and collectively sowing disorder through violence is not,\u201d Interior Minister Laurent Nu\u00f1ez wrote on X, citing the looting of hundreds of businesses across the country.<\/p>\n

Authorities estimated Saturday’s marches had a turnout of about 550,000, while organizers put it at 800,000. Demonstrators answered calls from a labor union, student organizations and activists hoping to revive the \u201cyellow vest\u201d movement , which emerged in 2018 to protest social injustice.<\/p>\n

Mass protests in France are often marred by violence on the fringes of otherwise peaceful marches, leading to clashes with police. The arrest tally reported Sunday approached the nearly 2,000 recorded nationwide during a single day of yellow vest protests in December 2018.<\/p>\n

Paris police said one person died of a heart attack, without providing details. The Paris prosecutor\u2019s office said it was investigating.<\/p>\n

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A protester holds a placard with a photo of French president Emmanuel Macron and a guillotine in front of a burning tourism office during a demonstration against rising living costs and in solidarity with students’ grievances in Lyon, France, Oct. 17. AP-Yonhap<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Parisians deplore shattered shops and a damaged square<\/strong><\/p>\n

Dislodged cobblestones, shattered storefronts and broken glass littered the area around Paris\u2019 Place de la R\u00e9publique on Sunday. Looting and damage were also reported in other tourist and shopping districts.<\/p>\n

Paris police said 855 people were arrested in the capital region. Prosecutors said 557 remained in police custody.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am actually stunned by the level of destruction and violence that was expressed,\u201d said government employee Marie Peyreigne, 57, wondering what had led to the mayhem.<\/p>\n

Parisians inspecting the damage photographed the partially dismantled base of the square\u2019s central monument, a statue of Marianne, a symbol of France.<\/p>\n

Jean Foissy, 74, said he had wanted to join the protest but encountered \u201ca wall of riot police and fires everywhere\u201d and returned home.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was very scared,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019ve been a Parisian since I was born, so when I got here, it almost made me want to cry because I find it so bad, it hurts me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Margaux Eude, 26, said she supported the protest movement but \u201cdidn\u2019t think it would escalate like this.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the troublemakers who came, and it breaks my heart because it delegitimizes the movement,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Political leaders trade blame ahead of presidential election<\/p>\n

Political leaders traded accusations over Saturday\u2019s violence ahead of next spring\u2019s presidential election.<\/p>\n

Far-right leader and presidential hopeful Marine Le Pen criticized Macron’s centrist government as \u201cexhausted, disoriented and seemingly incapable of doing anything other than commenting on its own powerlessness,\u201d in a video posted on social media.<\/p>\n

Far-left contender Jean-Luc M\u00e9lenchon accused Prime Minister S\u00e9bastien Lecornu of \u201cplaying with fire,\u201d alleging that \u201cby banking on degradation, you have only succeeded in uniting all youths and workers\u2019 unions.\u201d<\/p>\n

M\u00e9lenchon, who joined the Paris march Saturday, insisted that \u201cmy message is clear: those who share our fight have no business in looting or destruction.\u201d<\/p>\n

U.S. President Donald Trump posted \u201cFrance is burning!\u201d on his Truth Social platform, apparently linking the unrest to \u201cthe immigration of people from an entirely different world.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cClose your Borders and take control, before it is too late!\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n

French authorities and police have not linked immigrants to the rioting. Macron, speaking about troublemakers, asked: “How can French people do this to France?\u201d<\/p>\n

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Protesters walk past a graffiti reading “Macron, give the money back” during a demonstration to protest against the “high cost of living”, in Paris, Oct. 17, as part of a nationwide call for mobilisation bringing together various groups expressing their anger. AFP-Yonhap<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Hundreds of businesses looted across the country<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThe scale of the damage is considerable and unprecedented,\u201d Paris Mayor Emmanuel Gr\u00e9goire wrote in an open letter. \u201cParis is a city of freedoms, debate and demonstrations. It must remain so. But it must also be a city where everyone can work and run a business safely.\u201d<\/p>\n

The mayors of Paris, Marseille and Lyon, the three largest cities, requested a meeting with the prime minister in the coming days \u201cgiven the extent of the damage and the seriousness of the situation.\u201d<\/p>\n

In Marseille, some protesters briefly forced their way into City Hall’s lobby and a group of people wearing hoods and masks damaged a police station. In Lyon, a fire broke out inside a tourist office.<\/p>\n

In Limoges, the City Hall was ravaged by flames after \u201cradical troublemakers\u201d broke in while elected officials, employees, security personnel and members of the public were inside, Haute-Vienne prefect Maurice Barate said. \u201cThey deliberately set the building on fire. It is an extremely serious and unspeakable act,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

In eastern France, the Mulhouse prosecutor\u2019s office said an investigation has been opened after a 17-year-old girl was injured during the protests and lost an eye. On Saturday, another investigation was opened after a young protester lost a hand in Saint-Etienne.<\/p>\n

The injuries come as police have drawn sharp scrutiny over their use of grenades and other riot-control weapons during recent demonstrations.<\/p>\n

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France’s President Emmanuel Macron reacts as he chairs an Interministerial Crisis Meeting at the Elysee Presidential Palace, in Paris, France, Oct. 18, the day after riots and looting on the sidelines of nationwide protests against the high cost of living. EPA-Yonhap PARIS \u2014 French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday voiced the public\u2019s \u201canger\u201d and \u201cshame\u201d…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_2277560469115098_106292521332774":"","twitter_aToxNzczMzI3Njk4OTg4ODUxMjAxOw==_1773327698988851200":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_templately_pack_id":"","_templately_imported_at":"","_templately_source":"","_templately_import_session_id":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[16,14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9706","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-korea","category-trending-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t