France's prime minister asks for local curfews after a weekend of protests over living costs turned to looting and arson

French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu asked the country's prefects on Monday, October 19, to impose partial, localized curfews, after demonstrations on Saturday against the rising cost of living and in support of striking high school students were followed by looting and fires in several cities (Euronews; Ouest-France).

What happened Saturday

Most of the October 17 marches were peaceful, The Guardian reported. On their edges, groups set fires, looted shops and attacked police. In Limoges, the regional prefect said the 143-year-old town hall was largely lost to a fire set by masked protesters. In Paris, shops along Boulevard Magenta were broken into, and police used tear gas around Place de la République.

The movement began weeks ago in high schools in poorer suburbs north of Paris, over teacher absences and run-down buildings, and broadened into protests over prices and public spending, with yellow vest groups and the CGT joining, CBC News and The Guardian reported.

The arrest numbers, and who reported them

Weekend arrests ran into the thousands, but the totals vary by outlet and by when they were given. The Guardian reported more than 1,800 arrests, citing Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez on Sunday. Euronews reported about 2,400, "according to authorities," and Ouest-France put it at nearly 2,400, citing Interior Ministry figures given Sunday. Ouest-France reported Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin's Monday figure of 2,331 people placed in police custody. We didn't find an official count published on the Interior Ministry's or the government's websites.

What the government is doing

President Emmanuel Macron rejected Nuñez's offer to resign, Politico and Ouest-France reported. Nuñez acknowledged on France Inter that too few officers had been deployed in some places. After a crisis meeting Monday, Lecornu called for a strong judicial response, said affected businesses could use fully funded temporary layoff support starting Tuesday, and promised a support fund for shopkeepers, Ouest-France reported. By Monday evening, partial curfews starting that night had been decided for Lille, Douai, Denain and Wattignies in the Nord department, BFMTV reported, citing the prime minister's office (via Ouest-France). According to the regional prefecture, as reported by Ouest-France, they run from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. for the next two days, apply to minors and were agreed with each mayor.

Who says what

• The government: Lecornu blamed "ultra-left" groups and opportunistic looters for the violence, CBC reported. Macron said those who tried to bring down the Republic would answer for it.
• The left: Jean-Luc Mélenchon of France Unbowed, who marched in Paris, said Saturday that "those who share our fight have no business in looting and ransacking," 20 Minutes reported, citing AFP. He also called the police's crowd-control strategy "lamentable," according to TF1 Info. On Monday he challenged Lecornu to name the ultra-left movement he was accusing, Ouest-France reported.
• The far right: National Rally leaders blamed France Unbowed and the far left. Marine Le Pen wrote on X that legitimate social demands had been "taken hostage" by the far left, and party president Jordan Bardella denounced "professionals of chaos," TF1 Info reported, citing AFP. Bardella visited a Paris police station to show his "support" for officers, and Le Pen said Sunday that "millions of French people are angry, but they don't smash, they don't loot," according to TF1 Info's live coverage. On Monday, Bardella said he and Le Pen would not attend the meeting of party leaders that Lecornu had announced.
• The centre-right: Bruno Retailleau, leader of Les Républicains and its presidential candidate, repeated his call for Macron to declare a state of emergency, blamed "a convergence between the far left and riffraff (racailles) from immigrant backgrounds," and promised to strip looters of French nationality, Ouest-France reported, citing AFP.
• Paris: Mayor Emmanuel Grégoire said the state had failed to keep order and called for negotiations with student and worker groups.
• The protesters: Yellow vest coordinators announced a second round of action for Saturday, October 24, and for October 31. (Update, Oct. 27: the Oct. 24 protests went ahead. Interior Minister Nuñez said 1,435 people were arrested that day and that curfews would continue, Ouest-France reported on Oct. 26. Action set for Oct. 31 and the Nov. 5 strike had not yet happened when we updated this story.) The student union Unef said young people would not wait six months for the presidential election. Five unions (CFDT, CGT, FO, Unsa and FSU) have called a national strike day for November 5, Ouest-France reported.

Sources

• The Guardian, October 17
• CBC News
• Ouest-France live coverage, October 19 (French)
• Euronews
• Politico
• 20 Minutes, October 18 (French)
• TF1 Info, October 17 (French)
• TF1 Info live coverage, October 18 (French)

Drafted with AI assistance from primary sources. Written and edited by The Whole Read newsroom under Monsaur Othman's editorial standards. Read how we use AI, our editorial policy and our corrections policy.