Madar (International) - Nationwide protests against the rising cost of living in France descended into clashes with police, looting and arson in several cities on Saturday, October 17, 2026, with Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu saying 1,200 people were arrested and 150 police officers and gendarmes were hurt, according to Al Jazeera, citing AFP and Reuters.
More than 550,000 people took part according to the Interior Ministry, while organisers put the figure at around 800,000, France 24 reported. The marches were called by the Yellow Vest movement after weeks of student protests, six months before the 2027 presidential election that will choose Emmanuel Macron's successor.
Dozens of shops were looted in Paris, Marseille, Nice, Nantes, Bordeaux, Limoges, Lille, Toulouse and Strasbourg, AFP reported. A fire set by masked protesters largely destroyed Limoges' town hall, a building more than 140 years old that the local prefect called a "heritage catastrophe", while the town halls of Marseille and Lille were broken into and Lyon's tourist office was set on fire.
"It's a miracle the toll wasn't higher," Lecornu said as he visited officers in central Paris. Macron said on X that those responsible would be "prosecuted and punished", and Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin called for an "extremely firm judicial response". The police watchdog IGPN opened an inquiry after a protester lost a hand to a crowd-control grenade in Saint-Etienne, according to France 24.
Separate cost-of-living protests took place the same day elsewhere in Europe: Belgian police used tear gas and water cannon in Brussels and Liege, tens of thousands marched in Lisbon over low wages and housing costs, and clashes were reported in Milan and Bologna in Italy, Al Jazeera said.
