By Jessie Yeung, CNN
(CNN) — France is reeling from its worst rioting in years after nationwide protests over education and the cost of living spiraled into a wave of deadly, country-wide violence that has sparked a blame game at home and threatens to spill over into its European neighbors.
Police fired tear gas into crowds and fought running battles with black-clad, hooded rioters who set fires and broke into shops and government buildings, with images showing historic buildings ablaze.
More than 2,000 people were arrested, with at least two deaths and reports of serious injuries, including two people who lost their hands. As France begins to count the cost, accusations are mounting that the government failed to adequately anticipate the scale of the crisis, with an election to succeed French President Emmanuel Macron just six months away.
The vast majority of protesters have been peaceful, authorities and political leaders stress – but the level of fighting and destruction, the worst seen in years, has shaken the nation and prompted forceful condemnations from leaders and the public alike.
“Those who destroyed must pay,” Macron said on Sunday evening. “Those who looted must pay back. Those who sought to bring down the Republic will be held accountable.”
He also promised to hold meetings this week to discuss “concrete proposals” and to listen to protesters’ demands. But it remains to be seen whether this will be enough to stem the protests in France – as well as similar demonstrations against costs of living now spreading in other countries nearby.
It all began in September with a strike by students and teachers at a high school in the Parisian suburbs, who demanded more staff and resources. Their demands were met and the strike ended – but it lit a spark that soon caught nationwide.
Students around the country, long frustrated with an understaffed and overcrowded education system, launched protests that at times turned violent. A heavy-handed police response fueled public anger and pushed hundreds of thousands of people onto the streets, especially after videos of a police officer using a banned headlock on a girl.
Within a few weeks, the protests swelled to become a broader movement beyond students, capturing widespread discontent over affordability, perceived government inaction, a growing wealth divide, and a deep desire for social and political change.
“This can’t go on,” said 57-year-old Maria Pallas, a member of a major French trade union, speaking to CNN at Saturday’s protest in Paris. “There’s the cost of living. There’s unemployment. There’s a bunch of things. A young person will go looking for work, we’ll promise him a lot, and he’ll end up with nothing.”
Over half a million people hit the streets across France on Saturday. For the most part, things were peaceful; far-left leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon described the crowd in Paris as “moving calmly.”
But in several locations the protests spilled into violence, especially as night fell. In Paris, groups of masked young people looted shops, and started fires; in Lyon, protesters torched the city’s tourist office; in the central city of Limoges, the spire of a 143-year-old town hall collapsed in flames, reviving painful memories for some of the Notre Dame Cathedral fire.
The protests subsided somewhat on Sunday, with small pockets flaring, and police firing tear gas into the hallowed Place de la République, one of the largest public squares in Paris.
By the end of the weekend, Paris looked like a “war zone,” one visitor to the city told Reuters. Residents across the capital were stunned, with some condemning the looters and rioters, and others placing blame with authorities who failed to address the crisis earlier.
“It’s heartbreaking, heartbreaking seeing our city like this,” said 59-year-old Marseille resident Farida, who did not give a last name, according to Reuters. “If every protest ends with all the shop windows smashed and stores trashed, this simply cannot go on — it cannot go on.”
One Paris resident, 56-year-old Paola Formenti, voiced support for the protesters’ “legitimate” anger. The violence “has to be condemned, of course,” she said – but added, “I think the only way of actually avoiding this kind of violence is to answer to the protests of the people, to listen to them.”
In his Sunday address, Macron acknowledged protesters’ grievances and said he would take “a number of international initiatives” to tackle fuel prices and ensure a stable supply from Gulf nations. He did not make any concrete assurances or give further specifics.
The protests and fallout could shape France’s upcoming election next spring. Far-right leader Marine Le Pen, who is leading in the polls, claimed this weekend that “legitimate social grievances have, yet again, been held hostage by the far left.” Her hard-left rival, Mélenchon, has repeatedly defended the students’ right to protest.
On the ground, meanwhile, authorities in Marseille have banned all gatherings and demonstrations across the city from midday Monday until 8 p.m. local time in anticipation of any more flare-ups.
Protesters have taken to the streets elsewhere in Europe this weekend, too.
In Belgium, students demonstrated against the state of their education system. In Lisbon, Portugal, tens of thousands of people marched on Saturday to protest rising costs of living and the country’s housing crisis.
In Italy, Milan also saw two consecutive nights of unrest this weekend with protesters throwing stones and looting supermarkets, and police responding with tear gas and water cannons.
Meanwhile in Albania, students have been taking to the streets for months, protesting perceived government corruption. Demonstrations in the capital Tirana turned violent this weekend, with one person photographed throwing a Molotov cocktail at riot police.
Authorities in many of these countries have condemned the violence and called for calm. The protests have caught the attention of the White House, with Vice President JD Vance posting a video of the burning Limoges town hall on X and blaming the unrest on failed immigration policy.
US President Donald Trump also mentioned the protests during a rally in Georgia this weekend, joking: “Let’s go to France and join the revolution and spend our $5,000 there,” referring to the dividend promised if the Republicans win the midterm elections.
The-CNN-Wire
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CNN’s Joseph Ataman, Catherine Nicholls, Sana Noor Haq, James Legge, and Melissa Bell contributed to this report.
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