Demonstrations against rising living costs turned into riots across France on Saturday, 17 October, with rioters attacking public buildings and looting shops and retail outlets. The protests had begun over conditions in schools, staff shortages and underfunded public services before widening to include living costs and inequality. French services estimated that about 550,000 people took part in Saturday's demonstrations, while organisers claimed up to 800,000 across dozens of cities. Most marchers stayed peaceful, but clashes, arson and looting broke out on the edges of the protests. The worst unrest hit Paris, Limoges, Marseille, Lyon and Bordeaux, and on Sunday, 18 October, clashes and attempted looting continued in Paris and Marseille.
Police in Paris detained 855 people. Nationwide, the arrest count was first reported at about 1,800 and had passed 2,400 by Sunday evening, 18 October. Reuters reported that one protester died after suffering a cardiac arrest and that nearly 1,000 police officers were injured. These totals were still rising when they were reported, so each figure reflects the time of its report.
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Interior minister Laurent Nunez submitted his resignation after the weekend riots, but the Élysée Palace said President Emmanuel Macron did not accept it, citing the need for continuous command over police and security services. Macron asked Nunez to look into errors in forecasts and information received before the demonstrations, which he said had left the forces unable to contain the spreading unrest. In an interview with France Inter, Nunez said police had lost control in some large cities on Saturday and had at times been inadequate for the number of protesters. He said the number of vandals and the presence of far-left activists had been underestimated, blamed vandals, looters and far-right activists for the violence, and accused the far-left party La France Insoumise (LFI) of not condemning it sufficiently. In his address on Sunday evening, Macron condemned the violence and said local authorities would be able to ban gatherings if new threats emerged. Macron also said he would take a firm line against rioters and anyone else who used violence.
The head of CCI France, a network of chambers of commerce and industry, told Le Monde that more than 2,000 businesses had been directly affected by the violence, with losses running into hundreds of millions of euros. Markets reacted on 19 October, when the CAC 40 fell 1.02%, the STOXX 600 slipped 0.39% and Spain's IBEX lost 0.9%. Banks were hit hardest, with their sector index down 1.4%. The yield on 10-year French government bonds (OAT) rose to 4.85%, approaching its highest level in more than two decades. Meanwhile the National Assembly began debating the 2027 budget, which plans to cut the deficit by about 43 billion euros.
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The Élysée Palace said Macron wants continuity of command in France's security forces after unrest that followed protests against living costs on 17 October.
AI text based on reports by rmf24.pl, NIEZALEZNA.PL, oko.press and other publishers. Published .