Mass protests turn violent in France, spread across Europe

The protests in France grew violent over the weekend with clashes between demonstrators and the police, widespread looting, fires and attacks on public buildings in several cities, including Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Limoges. 

The demonstrations, which began as a protest against deteriorating conditions in high school classrooms, have drawn hundreds of thousands of people nationwide. 

The demonstrations also reflected anger at the cost-of-living crisis, low wages, and frustration with the government. 

Between Saturday and Sunday, police fired tear gas into crowds. They fought running battles with rioters who set fires and broke into shops and government buildings, with images showing historic buildings ablaze.

Nearly 2,400 people were arrested in France, with about 1,000 police officers hurt in the violence, according to French authorities.

The Interior Ministry said on Sunday that 2,397 arrests were made on Saturday, with 997 security personnel sustaining injuries. 

It said that seven officers were badly wounded.

“Tonight, we all feel anger and shame,” France’s President Emmanuel Macron said in an address to the nation, adding there must be a distinction between protesters with “legitimate demands” and “those who destroyed, smashed, and looted”.

“Those who have destroyed must pay,” he said, 

Mr Macron has also vowed that authorities will be “uncompromising in the face of violence.”

He stated that “listening to the anger” doesn’t mean those who vandalised and looted will go unpunished.

Meanwhile, the unrest has spread to other parts of Europe, including Belgium, Spain, Portugal, and Italy.

Italy saw a fresh round of demonstrations on Saturday and Sunday, with clashes in Milan, Bologna, Brescia, Bergamo and Turin.

The protests centred on rising living costs, inadequate public services and mounting pressure on household finances. 

In Spain, citizens took to the streets over housing prices. 

The protests were triggered by the eviction of an 87-year-old woman from her home after an investment fund hiked her rent by 230 per cent, according to the Guardian.

Similar protests took place in Portugal on Saturday, with hundreds gathering in central Lisbon. 

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The march began peacefully but ended with masked rioters throwing stones, paving blocks and other objects at riot police and setting fire to barricades made from bar tables.

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump has attributed the wave of unrest sweeping France to immigration.

On Truth Social, he wrote, “France is burning!”

“The immigration of people from an entirely different world, people with hatred in their hearts, has shattered that once great country,” he continued.