One Dead, More Than 500 Officers Injured as French Protests Descend Into Night of Riots

PARIS — France was counting the damage on Sunday after a wave of protests over the cost of living and public services turned violent overnight, leaving one protester dead, more than 500 police officers injured and about 1,800 people detained.

The unrest followed what had been a largely peaceful day of demonstrations on Saturday, when hundreds of thousands of people marched across the country. As night fell, groups of young people in Paris looted shops and set fires, while clashes broke out in Marseille, Lyon and the central city of Limoges.

In Limoges, rioters set fire to the city’s 143-year-old town hall, and video showed its historic spire collapsing in the flames. Local prefect Maurice Barate said the roof collapsed onto the lower floors, destroying roughly two-thirds of the building. In Marseille, masked protesters dressed in black broke into city hall and defaced the building, while in Lyon protesters torched the city’s tourist office, according to CNN.

Police responded with tear gas, baton charges and water cannon as the demonstrations wound down. Metro stations were closed across France, including stops near the Champs-Elysees, the presidential palace and parliament.

France’s Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said on X that more than 500 police officers, gendarmes and firefighters had been injured in the unrest. In Paris alone, police confirmed a record 855 arrests and 13 officers injured, according to The Sun. Prosecutors have opened an investigation into organized property destruction.

One protester died in Paris after suffering what police described as a cardiac arrest. The man collapsed on Boulevard Magenta as a march passed through the area and was carried by fellow demonstrators to the Chateau d’Eau emergency center, but could not be saved, The Sun reported. CNN affiliate BFMTV, citing the Paris police headquarters, described it as a “cardiorespiratory arrest” and said the exact circumstances were still under investigation.

What the protesters are demanding

About 550,000 people joined the demonstrations across France on Saturday, including 110,000 in Paris, according to Nunez; organizers said the turnout was higher. The protests grew out of weeks of student-led rallies over crumbling schools, the rising cost of living and what demonstrators describe as government inaction.

In the capital, luxury boutiques including Dior, Louis Vuitton and Kenzo had their windows smashed and spray-painted, a McDonald’s storefront was vandalized, and supermarkets were looted, with footage showing products strewn across the aisles. Masked youths were also seen hurling petrol bombs at police, according to The Sun.

In Saint-Etienne, about 40 miles southwest of Lyon, a protester lost his hand during a march on Saturday, a police source told BFMTV. CNN noted it was the second reported case in the current wave of student protests, after a student in the northeastern city of Lens lost his hand earlier this month.

Macron vows punishment, plans address to the nation

President Emmanuel Macron warned late on Saturday that “those who have engaged in destruction, attacked government offices and businesses, and even looted our town halls, will be prosecuted and punished.” He is scheduled to address the nation in a televised broadcast on Sunday evening, CNN reported.

Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu condemned “unacceptable levels of violence” and is set to meet the mayors of Paris, Lyon and Marseille to coordinate the response, BFMTV reported. Lecornu said far-left groups had orchestrated violence in several French cities and that criminals had joined in to loot and destroy.

The night’s unrest also drew solidarity protests in Belgium, Albania and Italy, according to CNN.

Reporting based on coverage by CNN and The Sun.