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Protests over living costs and declining public services turned violent in France this weekend, with almost 2,400 people arrested and nearly 1,000 police officers and gendarmes injured, according to the interior ministry. Shops were looted and buildings torched, including the 143-year-old town hall in Limoges, while a protester died of cardiac arrest in Paris. About 550,000 people marched nationwide, including 110,000 in Paris, but the violence came from fringe groups. President Emmanuel Macron ordered a review of intelligence and police preparedness and asked for concrete proposals to address the crisis. It comes as Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu’s minority government seeks €54 billion ($61 billion) of 2027 budget savings amid a record €3.6 trillion public debt, or 119% of GDP.

The movement began with student protests in late September over run-down public schools and has grown into a nationwide movement against rising living costs, including high fuel prices. Protesters cited teacher shortages, dilapidated classrooms and an opaque university admissions system, while fuel costs rose partly due to the Middle East war. Violence and looting in several cities led to about 1,800 arrests, damage to about 1,500 businesses, and around 500 police, firefighters and paramedics injured. The government plans to deploy 3,000 more substitute teachers and drop a planned rise in university registration fees, but has signaled limits to further concessions. The interior ministry estimated 550,000 people joined nationwide protests, while the CGT put turnout at 800,000.

Student protests in France over failing public schools have grown into a nationwide movement against rising living costs, including high fuel prices. The CGT union is calling for lower prices, higher pensions and higher wages. Violence and looting broke out in several cities; the interior minister said about 1,800 people were arrested, about 1,500 businesses were damaged, and Limoges' 19th-century town hall burned. About 500 police, firefighters and paramedics were hurt. The government plans to deploy 3,000 more substitute teachers and drop a planned increase in some university registration fees, but Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez has signaled limits to further concessions. The interior ministry estimated 550,000 people joined Saturday's demonstrations, while the CGT put turnout at 800,000.

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.

Protests over soaring living costs and deteriorating public services turned violent across France on Saturday, with cars burned, shops looted and clashes in Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Lille. French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said more than 2,000 people were arrested and more than 600 police officers, gendarmes and firefighters were injured, according to provisional figures. In Limoges, masked rioters set fire to the City Hall built in 1883, causing its roof to collapse and destroying about two-thirds of its facade. The unrest follows weeks of student-led protests that began on September 17 over teacher shortages and overcrowded classrooms, and a survey found 45 percent of respondents cited inflation and purchasing power as main concerns. Macron vowed that those responsible would be prosecuted, while the government pledged around 3,000 additional teachers ahead of the presidential election on April 18 and May 2, 2027.