Madar (International) - French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday, October 18, 2026, vowed that those who "sought to bring down the republic" would be held to account, in a televised address the day after cost-of-living protests turned into rioting and looting in several cities, Al Jazeera reported, citing AFP.
"We all feel anger and shame this evening," Macron said, calling the sight of vandalised city streets "intolerable." He urged a distinction between protesters with "legitimate demands" and "those who destroyed, smashed, and looted," saying nothing justifies violence and that the debate ahead of the election in six months must take place "with the parties, not through violence in the street."
Macron announced a "crisis unit" to provide "urgent aid" to those affected and said he had asked Interior Minister Laurent Nunez to draw "all the lessons", particularly on intelligence and anticipation, so it would not happen again. He stopped short of declaring a state of emergency or a curfew.
The Interior Ministry confirmed 2,397 arrests on Saturday and 997 police officers and gendarmes injured, seven of them seriously. One protester died of cardiac arrest during the demonstrations in Paris. On Sunday, fresh tension broke out at Place de la Republique in Paris after a call for an unauthorised gathering, according to the Paris police prefecture.
Opposition figures were quick to blame the government. Left-wing leader Jean-Luc Melenchon said it was "solely responsible" for the destruction, while National Rally president Jordan Bardella called Macron's speech "lamentable" and "cowardly". Macron's second term ends in 2027.
