Key facts
- Over 2,000 people were arrested nationwide.
- Hundreds of shops were destroyed and looted.
- Public buildings, including town halls and a tourist office, were burned.
- About 600 police, firefighters and paramedics were injured.
- A 17-year-old boy lost his hand to a crowd-control grenade.
The French government was engaged in crisis talks on Sunday following a weekend of intense unrest across the country, marked by burned public buildings, looted shops, and over 2,000 arrests. President Emmanuel Macron was preparing to address the nation, having stated on social media that "there is no place for violence" in France. Politicians from across the spectrum called for the resignation of Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez, citing a perceived surprise and failure of state response to the scale of the violence. Peaceful demonstrations for more teachers and public services occurred alongside separate, spontaneous gatherings involving property destruction and clashes with police in cities like Paris, Bordeaux, Nice, and Marseille. Masked looters took advantage of the chaos, smashing shopfronts and stealing goods. In Paris, 855 arrests were made, with streets littered with the remains of barricades and torched vehicles. The mayor of Limoges described the burning of his town hall as a "colossal failure of the state," while the mayor of Marseille questioned policing tactics after city hall and a police station were stormed. Traders' unions reported over 1,500 shops and businesses ransacked, with costs in the tens of millions of euros. The government blamed "ultra-left" groups and criminals for the violence, a stance contested by opposition figures who pointed to organizational failings.