Politics
🔴 Live: France’s CRS riot police deployed again in Paris as unrest continues
Key Points
France’s CRS riot police have been deployed in Paris on Sunday, a day after nationwide demonstrations saw more than 1,800 people arrested. French President Emmanuel Macron will address the nation at 8pm this evening. Follow our liveblog for the latest updates.
France’s CRS riot police have been deployed in Paris on Sunday, a day after nationwide demonstrations saw more than 1,800 people arrested. French President Emmanuel Macron will address the nation at 8pm this evening. Follow our liveblog for the latest updates.
Marine Le Pen describes Saturday's events as 'a threat to democracy'
Far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen denounced a "profound crisis" in France following the violence that erupted on the sidelines of Saturday’s day of mobilisation – a crisis she described as posing "a threat to democracy," via her social media channels.
She decried a "Macronist administration that is out of steam, exhausted, and disoriented," as the French government faces a barrage of criticism regarding its handling of Saturday’s events.
📸 On the ground as action by protesters continues into Sunday evening
Firefighters extinguish a barricade fire on Rue du Château d'Eau
Photo: Ines Emprin
The beginning of the same barricade, about ten minutes earlier
Photo: Ines Emprin
📸 Fire at intersection of Rue Léon Jouhaux and Valmy in Paris
This photo shows the aftermath of a recent fire at the intersection of Rue Léon Jouhaux and Valmy in Paris. According to a FRANCE 24 journalist, a few dozen people were present at the scene, but the crowd was not very dense.
Photo: Ines Emprin
Paris police fire tear gas at République square in Paris
A FRANCE 24 journalist reported that the situation is still tense around the République square in Paris, where the police fired tear gas on groups comprising a mix of demonstrators, curious onlookers and bystanders.
🎥 France counts cost of violent protests
France was reeling from widespread damage caused by violent protests the day before that saw 1,800 people arrested, a historic town hall torched and widespread looting
Police disperse 'unauthorised' gathering at Place de la République in Paris
🎥 France protests: 'There's a whole range of grievances at play'
Is the anger in France driven more by declining living standards or by the perception that the economic burden is being distributed unfairly?
We discuss this with our guest, Joseph Downing, a senior lecturer in politics and international relations at Aston University.
🎥 France: Protests 'brought the entire population together for a common purpose'
This weekend, in cities across France, some 800,000 protesters, including students, railway workers and members of the Yellow Vest movement, took to the streets in largely peaceful nationwide demonstrations.
Sparked by a month of high school student protests over educational inequality and crumbling school facilities, the movement has grown into a broader outcry over the cost of living, public spending and climate inaction, as people across France say they have reached their breaking point.
Trump says 'France is burning!'
US President Donald Trump blamed immigration for unrest during protests in France and urged the country to tighten its migration rules.
"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 said in a post on his Truth Social platform. "Close your Borders and take control, before it is too late!"
Prime minister postpones crisis meeting until Monday at 10am
Sébastien Lecornu will chair an interministerial crisis task force on Monday at 10am, two days after violence erupted on the sidelines of the October 17 demonstrations, the prime minister’s office has confirmed.
The meeting was originally scheduled for Sunday at 7pm, but has been postponed due to "scheduling" issues.
🎥 Paris protests: A look at the aftermath
FRANCE 24's Antonia Kerrigan returns to Place de la République after yesterday's demonstrations, where violent clashes erupted between police and protesters.
President Emmanuel Macron to address the French people with formal statement at 8pm
President Emmanuel Macron will "address the French people in a formal statement at 8:00pm" on Sunday, the Élysée Palace has announced, following the widespread violence and looting that took place on the sidelines of the October 17 demonstrations.
The head of state will convene with ministers at 5.30pm at the palace, as the government faces pressure from opposition parties and certain mayors regarding the handling of Saturday’s protests.
Currently no changes have been made to the president's planned trip to four Gulf states – Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Qatar – scheduled for Monday.
President of National Assembly to call inquiry into the violence and looting that took place alongside peaceful protests
President of the French National Assembly, Yaël Braun-Pivet, will propose on Tuesday morning during the Assembly’s Conference of Presidents a parliamentary inquiry into the violence and looting that occurred on the sidelines of the October 17 demonstrations, according to a statement.
The inquiry will also examine the law enforcement strategy and any "potential shortcomings" within it, which has been called into question by opposition parties and certain mayors.
Some 1,500 shops and retailers damaged in French protests, head of representative group says
Around 1,500 shops and retailers were damaged in French protests on the weekend, with many of them looted, the head of a group representing the sector said.
The cost to the establishments will run to "several hundreds of millions of euros", Alexandre Bompard, president of the Retail and Trade Federation, told LCI television, adding it was too early to give an exact figure.
Prime minister announces crisis meeting at 7PM
French Prime Sébastien Lecornu will hold an interministerial crisis meeting at 7PM, saying that the meeting will focus on "the economy and commerce", "insurance" and "legal proceedings" in the wake of widespread vandalism and looting that broke out on the margins of Saturday's demonstrations.
The prime minister's office also announced that Lecornu will meet with the mayors of Paris, Marseille and Lyon at a date still to be determined.
More than 500 police, gendarmes and firefighters injured in Saturday's protests, interior minister says
French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said that more than 500 police, gendarmes and firefighters had been injured during Saturday's protests, adding that the toll remained provisional.
There have been no estimates of how many demonstrators have been injured during the violent clashes between police and protesters that broke out on the margins of the peaceful marches, although a 17-year-old boy in Saint-Etienne had his hand blown off by a stun grenade fired by police.
'There's a lot of anger there': Who took part in Saturday's protests?
FRANCE 24 international affairs editor Shirli Sitbon breaks down what we know about the people who showed up for Saturday's nationwide protests – peaceful or otherwise.
Police arrested more than 1,800 during French protests, interior minister says
French Green Party leader calls for interior minister to resign
French Green Party leader Marine Tondelier called for Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez to resign, slamming the law enforcement response to Saturday's nationwide protests as an "absolute disaster".
"Unable to anticipate an adequate security setup guaranteeing the safety of people and property, Laurent Nuñez is clearly overwhelmed by the situation, whose scale he has evidently underestimated," she wrote on social media.
She accused the minister of leaving whole cities "abandoned to rioters" while police assaulted peaceful demonstrators.
• Looters seized the opportunity to raid and vandalise a host of shops and businesses across France, from bakeries and supermarkets to tech stores.
• A protester's hand was blown off by a police crowd-control grenade as nationwide demonstrations continued, with an estimated 800,000 people taking part.
• Students, unions, and yellow vest protesters joined forces to protest against austerity measures and the cost of living.
France (LOCATION)
CRS (ORG)
Paris (LOCATION)
French (ORG)
Emmanuel Macron (PERSON)
Marine Le Pen (ORG)
Macronist (ORG)
Rue du Château d'Eau Photo (LOCATION)
Ines Emprin (PERSON)
Ines Emprin 📸 Fire (PERSON)
Rue Léon Jouhaux (LOCATION)
Valmy (ORG)
Place de la République (LOCATION)
Joseph Downing (PERSON)
Aston University (ORG)