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French authorities reported more than 1,200 arrests nationwide with over 500 police officers, gendarmes and firefighters injured during the unrest that erupted on Saturday as demonstrations against rising living costs turned violent in Paris and other major urban centers. The Retail and Trade Federation placed the number of damaged shops and retailers at around 1,500 while AFP correspondents noted that the toll included a record 855 arrests in the capital alone. Paris deputy mayor Lamia El Aaraje described the events as a level of violence the city had never seen before and officials worked through the night to restore order as looters targeted businesses long after the main marches had dispersed.
Shopkeepers in Paris began clean-up operations early on Sunday sweeping away shattered glass from designer outlets including Ralph Lauren, Gucci and Versace whose frontages had been smashed during the disorder. Near Place de la République the BBC visited a ransacked clothing store where clothes and furniture lay scattered across the floor while the Good Vibes bakery lost its entire front window and the Nicolas wine store had every bottle either stolen or destroyed. Graffiti reading “tax the rich” and “eat the rich” covered many buildings according to images and reporting compiled by Euronews and The Local.
The protests drew between 550,000 and 800,000 participants according to varying estimates from the interior ministry and the CGT union which had joined Yellow Vest organisers and student groups in calling for action over inflation and fuel prices that have soared since the start of the US-Iran war. Purchasing power in France has dwindled since 2024 a trend highlighted in coverage by France 24 that linked the demonstrations to earlier high-school student protests over perceived police brutality. In several cities the largely peaceful marches were overtaken by groups of masked youths who confronted security forces with projectiles and fireworks as police responded with tear gas and water cannons.
Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu condemned what he termed violence of extreme intensity and noted that the unrest unfolded as President Emmanuel Macron enters his final months in office ahead of elections in six months. Paris mayor Emmanuel Gregoire stated that entire streets had been methodically ravaged while distinguishing the actions of looters from the majority of demonstrators who sought to protest calmly. The interior ministry separately confirmed that a 17-year-old protester lost his right hand to a crowd-control grenade in Saint-Etienne and that a historic town hall in Limoges was set ablaze.
Looters operated in coordinated teams that disabled security cameras before breaking into stores ranging from luxury boutiques and supermarkets to pharmacies and electronics outlets across Paris, Marseille, Bordeaux, Nice and Strasbourg according to detailed dispatches from AFP journalists. In the capital’s 11th arrondissement individuals left a Franprix grocery carrying bags of juice, alcohol and cakes while mobile phones were tossed from an SFR telecommunications shop to crowds waiting outside and an Intersport sporting goods store was also hit. Galeries Lafayette confirmed incursions at multiple branches including a heavily impacted location in Bordeaux as reported by WWD.
Residents expressed disbelief at the scale of destruction with one Parisian telling 20 Minutes the scenes felt as if the city had experienced a war while a shopkeeper of 30 years barricaded himself inside his business and described the events as the apocalypse in comments to RTL radio. Municipal cleaning crews and rubbish trucks moved through affected districts on Sunday as business owners assessed losses that some placed as high as €100,000. The Yellow Vest movement which staged similar actions eight years ago against fuel tax increases had billed the latest round as a “yellow and youth” mobilisation that ultimately exposed deep public frustration over economic conditions.
