Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said curfews helped produce a “calm” night across France, though public discontent remains high after the weekend's mass protests, looting and violence. Meanwhile, President Emmanuel Macron faces criticism for a three-day tour of the Middle East, which he said aims to address high fuel prices and secure French energy supplies. The unrest comes amid political instability, a divided parliament with no majority, and government borrowing costs at their highest level in decades. The government is targeting a cut in the deficit to 5% of GDP from 5.4% in its 2027 budget, while French bonds, stocks and the euro sold off after the weekend scenes.
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EUR/USD
• NeutralRelevance: low
| Market | Currencies |
|---|---|
| Close on 10/19/2026 | 1.12125 |
| Change that session | -0.24% |
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France's worst civil unrest in years, with looted shops and torched buildings, has plunged President Emmanuel Macron's final six months in office into deeper turmoil. Unlike during the 2018–2019 Yellow Vest uprising, when he could offer billions of euros in concessions, strained public finances and a fractured parliament now leave him few levers to pull. Former allies blame his 2024 snap parliamentary election for weakening his authority, while far-right National Rally leader Marine Le Pen, already the frontrunner for 2027, may benefit from the unrest. Investors are also worried about political risk as France's debt swells and its budget deficit ranks among the euro zone's largest. Macron, meanwhile, arrived in Kuwait on a Gulf tour he says will help secure fuel supplies.
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French 10-year government bond yields rose 0.14 percentage points to 4.93% after a turbulent weekend, while the spread over German bonds returned to 1.47 percentage points. Nationwide protests over rising living costs and student education conditions turned into widespread rioting and looting; the government said at least 3,000 shops and businesses were looted, and the French retail federation estimated damages could reach “several hundred million euros.” More than 2,500 people are under formal investigation, 67 of them detained, and several cities have imposed curfews. President Macron rejected Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez’s resignation offer, even though Nuñez admitted police were deployed too thinly for protests of over 550,000 people, against an expected 200,000. Opposition politicians and the mayors of Paris and Marseille criticized the government for letting police lose control of the situation.
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President Emmanuel Macron rejected Interior Minister Laurent Nunez’s offer to resign after weekend riots, instructing him instead to end barricades and looting and be transparent about failures in foresight and intelligence. Hundreds of thousands protested over cost-of-living pressures and declining public services, but in cities including Paris, Marseille and Lyon, peaceful marches were hijacked by rioters despite 60,000 police and security forces being deployed on Saturday. Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin also pointed to intelligence failures and said “extreme-left” rioters had been underestimated. The unrest comes six months before the presidential election and as the government needs to pass a budget bill. France’s 10-year yield rose 8 basis points to 4.86%, while Germany’s was flat at 3.41%, and the CAC 40 fell 1.3% in early trade.
- As France burns , Macron looks like a man who has lost control
Protests that began at a secondary school in Créteil over a lack of teachers have spread across France, drawing well over half a million people onto the streets and leading to violence, looting and hundreds of arrests. Police weapons caused serious injuries, including a 14-year-old whose jaw was shattered and a 15-year-old who lost a hand. President Macron first threatened punishment for those who vandalised and looted, then acknowledged “legitimate concerns” in a later address but told citizens to wait for his successor's election in six months. The columnist argues the government should have engaged with protest representatives rather than ordering riot police in. The unrest coincides with an incipient sovereign debt crisis, as French OATs bonds have fallen sharply and French yields have risen the most among major advanced economies, while political gridlock blocks spending cuts.
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Weekend riots across major French cities, including Paris, Marseille and Bordeaux, caused an estimated several hundred million dollars in damage and theft and led to some 2,400 arrests; Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez offered his resignation. The unrest follows weeks of student protests over crumbling schools, teacher shortages and poor job prospects, which have led to more than 6,000 arrests. President Macron and Prime Minister Lecornu condemned the violence while blaming political rivals, as far-right leader Marine Le Pen, who leads the polls ahead of next spring's presidential election, pushes migration into the debate. Economically, government debt rose to 119% of GDP in the second quarter, the 10-year bond yield hit 4.9%, and 85% of respondents in an Ipsos-BVA poll said France is in decline.
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