French police clashed with protesters and looters for a second consecutive day on Sunday, as authorities struggled to restore order following nationwide cost-of-living demonstrations that resulted in 2,000 arrests.
The fresh violence erupted in Paris before municipal workers had finished clearing burnt vehicles, damaged shopfronts and debris left by Saturday’s unrest, while political leaders traded accusations over the handling of the crisis.
Agence France-Presse (AFP) journalists reported that several hundred people gathered at Place de la République following social media calls for a demonstration that authorities said had not been authorised.
Television footage showed a clothing store being looted, while bicycles were set alight nearby. The Paris police prefecture said security forces intervened after detecting “the initial signs of tension”.
Journalists at the scene witnessed police firing tear gas and stun grenades at demonstrators, some of whom threw bottles and rocks at officers. Several arrests were made.
According to the Legal Team Paris group of lawyers, about 550 of the 855 people arrested in the capital during Saturday’s disturbances remained in detention, with police stations struggling to cope with the number of detainees.
The unrest has intensified political tensions six months before France’s presidential election, with the government facing criticism over its preparations for the nationwide protests, which followed weeks of student demonstrations over conditions in schools.
President Emmanuel Macron vowed on Saturday that those responsible for vandalism and looting would face prosecution.
Marine Le Pen, the far-right presidential candidate of the National Rally party, criticised the government, describing Macron’s administration as “running on fumes, exhausted and disoriented”.
“We are experiencing a profound crisis of trust and authority, which poses a threat to democracy,” Le Pen said. She was leading opinion polls ahead of the election, according to the report.
Le Pen blamed ultra-left groups for the violence, while Jean-Luc Mélenchon, leader of the left-wing France Unbowed party, accused the authorities of escalating tensions.
The unrest also attracted international attention, with US President Donald Trump blaming immigration for the violence in a social media post.
“France is burning! The immigration of people from an entirely different world, people with hatred in their hearts, has shattered that once great country,” Trump wrote.
Saturday’s disturbances included looting in Paris and other major cities, including Marseille, Bordeaux, Nice and Strasbourg, alongside demonstrations over the rising cost of living.
The Retail and Trade Federation estimated that about 1,500 businesses had been damaged, with losses running into hundreds of millions of dollars. One person died during the main march in Paris, although officials said the death was health-related.
“It’s like we had a war,” a 78-year-old Paris resident, Mehmet Ozeden, told AFP, describing the burnt street barricades.
Another resident, Anita Gras, said she witnessed young men looting a sports shoe retailer.
“It’s appalling, terrifying – groups of young people came here yesterday, looting, smashing everything, with total impunity,” said 57-year-old Cecile Rogue, as she surveyed a pile of charred bicycles.
In Limoges, a fire destroyed the city’s 19th-century town hall. The local prefect, Maurice Barate, told news channel LCI that the blaze had been deliberately set by what he described as “a wild horde”.
About 7,000 people marched through the central French city on Sunday to express their anger over the destruction.
In Paris, tourists were seen fleeing along streets filled with tear gas and demonstrators during Saturday’s violence. Danish tourist Soren Petersen described the damage to the city’s buildings as “sad”.
“It is not a protest, it’s far beyond a normal protest,” he told AFP.
Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said about 500 police officers, firefighters and paramedics were injured during the unrest.
The violence occurred alongside nationwide demonstrations that attracted an estimated 550,000 people, according to the Interior Ministry. The CGT trade union put the turnout at 800,000.
The disturbances also left two teenagers with severe injuries. A 17-year-old boy lost his right hand after a crowd-control grenade exploded in Saint-Étienne, while a 17-year-old girl lost an eye in Mulhouse, according to prosecutors.
The demonstrations were called by France’s Yellow Vest movement, which staged major protests eight years ago against Macron’s government over planned fuel tax increases. Saturday’s actions were promoted under the banner of “yellow and youth” demonstrations.
