France counts cost of worst unrest in years as tensions flare again in Paris
Fresh clashes broke out in Paris Sunday a day after France suffered one of its worst days of unrest in years, with protests over high prices leaving one demonstrator dead, thousands arrested and shops across the country looted or damaged. Nationwide protests erupted into riots Saturday, with a town hall torched, shops ransacked, and buildings covered in graffiti as violent groups clashed with police in cities across the country.One protester died after suffering a cardiac arrest during demonstrations in Paris. Police made nearly 2,400 arrests across France, while almost 1,000 officers were injured, the interior minister said. “It’s like a war zone here,” said Dutch entrepreneur Tije De Boer, who had come to Paris with his kids to visit a friend and said the protests forced him to evacuate his hotel, a trouble hotspot Saturday.French President Emmanuel Macron condemned Sunday what he called the “dissenters” who looted and vandalised cities in “shocking” scenes across France on the sidelines of protests over the cost of living. “Looking at these images, we have all asked ourselves: what was going through their minds? How can French people do this to France?” Macron said in a televised address to the nation. “Nothing justifies it, nothing explains it, nothing excuses it. Tonight, we all feel anger and shame.” “Those who looted will have to pay back for the damage, and those who sought to bring down the Republic will be held accountable,” Macron said.Macton said prefects and mayors would be empowered to ban certain gatherings where necessary. Macron also said he had asked govt to bring together students, teachers, lawmakers, trade union representatives and business leaders this week to formulate what he described as “concrete proposals” to address the crisis, without providing further details.More than half a million people joined marches in scores of cities Saturday, marking the convergence of a month-long student movement with broader social discontent against rising living costs and declining public services. Govt has blamed the violence on hard-left and ultra-left groups, as well as criminals who it said instigated the looting.Hundreds of shops damagedWhile hundreds of thousands protested peacefully, violent fringe groups targeted public buildings, looted luxury boutiques and supermarkets, and attacked police vehicles and officers. Interior minister Laurent Nunez said several hundred shops had been damaged Saturday. In Limoges, southwestern France, mayor Guillaume Guerin denounced the chaos after the city’s 143-year-old town hall was set ablaze and largely destroyed in an arson attack on Saturday.Protests in Italy, PortugalMilan police clashed Sunday with protesters throwing stones and looting shops during protests against poor services and the rising cost of living, a day after similar unrest in several Italian cities. Police fired tear gas and used water cannons after several hundred hooded protesters broke shop windows and set bins on fire, sources said.In Portugal, hundreds of tents populated Lisbon’s Rossio Square and Porto’s Praça D João I Sunday, with protesters saying they intended to continue their action indefinitely. The demonstrations followed a police operation to clear a housing protest camp last week. The protests have broadened into a national campaign over unaffordable rents, low wages and rising food and fuel prices.
