French President Emmanuel Macron delivered a special address to the nation Sunday evening following a weekend of violent riots, declaring that "we all feel anger and shame tonight." Speaking after an emergency meeting with several ministers at the Élysée Palace, Macron said that "those who destroyed must pay, and those who looted must reimburse," promising "full transparency" over how security forces prepared for and handled the unrest.
Macron's speech came shortly after reports of fresh looting in Paris and Lyon, though on a far smaller scale than the violence that swept the country over the weekend. Security forces remained on high alert amid fears of another night of unrest.
A Micromania video game store employee tries to protect the shop and is kicked in the back
President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte, attend a Céline Dion concert Friday night, as tensions rise across France and security forces prepare for Saturday's demonstrations
Macron spoke shortly after French media reported further looting in Paris. The exact scale of the incidents was not immediately clear, but most were reported around Place de la République, where clashes with police resumed and clothing stores were reportedly targeted. CRS 8, a specialized French riot police unit trained to respond to urban violence, was deployed across the capital, including around the square.
French television network BFMTV broadcast live footage of several people vandalizing and looting a Petite Mendigote store. The shop window was smashed, allowing several men to enter. According to Le Parisien, unmasked youths were later seen walking along the street carrying sweaters. "Would you like a sweater, madam?" one asked a woman riding a bicycle. "No, thank you," she replied.
Just minutes before Macron began his address, fresh clashes were reported in Paris, where police used tear gas and stun grenades on Boulevard Voltaire and Place de la République. A Le Parisien reporter said numerous young people were gathered in the area and could be heard shouting, "Come on, guys, let's go loot something."
Meanwhile, around 50 young people, many wearing masks, attempted to smash the window of a Lacoste store in Lyon. Police intervened before they could break in, dispersing the group with tear gas. In Limoges, where some of Saturday's worst violence occurred, approximately 7,000 people gathered Sunday evening for a demonstration in the city's Place de la République, with no significant disturbances initially reported.
A Palestinian flag is seen during the burning of Lyon's tourist information office
Shattered windows at a McDonald's restaurant in Lille, northern France, following the riots
(Photo: Sameer Al-Doumy / AFP)
Macron, whose second presidential term ends next May and who is barred from seeking a third consecutive term, has largely limited his response in recent weeks to measured statements acknowledging protesters' anger while condemning violence. Demonstrations by schoolchildren, university students and labor unions have repeatedly descended into serious disorder, but the president has refrained from taking more sweeping measures, including invoking emergency powers that could allow a larger security deployment and tighter restrictions on violent groups.
Seeking to highlight what they described as Macron's detachment from the public, critics circulated footage over the weekend showing him and his wife, Brigitte, dancing and drinking at a Céline Dion concert Friday night, just hours before the riots began. Security forces were already making extensive preparations for Saturday's planned demonstrations, preparations that ultimately proved insufficient to contain the violence.
The video showed the couple smiling and applauding, prompting accusations that they were completely disconnected from a country increasingly furious over soaring living costs, deteriorating public finances, political paralysis and violence in the streets. Some critics even compared them to Marie Antoinette, the wife of King Louis XVI, who became a symbol of royal extravagance while ordinary French citizens suffered hunger and economic hardship in the years preceding the French Revolution.
Mélenchon's warning to Macron: 'Announce measures or we will lose control'
Even before Macron's address, politicians from both the far right and the far left launched direct attacks on the president and his government. Far-right leader Marine Le Pen, who is running in next year's presidential election, said in a video released shortly before the speech that Macron's administration had "run out of steam" and was exhausted, disoriented and seemingly incapable of doing anything beyond commenting on its own impotence and decline.
"We have a government that deplores events without managing to prevent them, control them or even deal with them," Le Pen said. "A minority government that has lost its legitimacy, whose sole concern is no longer governing France but clinging to the last remnants of its fading power." Jordan Bardella, president of Le Pen's National Rally party and her close political ally, said shortly beforehand that Saturday's violence had left "France humiliated" and that "there is no longer any order" in the country.
Footage shows Limoges city hall engulfed in flames before part of the building collapses
(Video: X )
(Photo: Pascal LACHENAUD / AFP)
Looters break into Galeries Lafayette in Bordeaux over the weekend
(Photo: X)
Far-left leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon, whose France Unbowed party (LFI) has been accused by political opponents of inciting protesters and bearing significant responsibility for the violence, also attacked Macron. "I am worried. We had to go through this entire wave of violence before Emmanuel Macron finally made his voice heard," he said. "The government adopted a strategy of letting things deteriorate. Macron is sitting on the fence and playing for time."
Mélenchon has repeatedly accused the government and security forces in recent days of using excessive force against protesters and rioters. On Sunday evening, he again accused the authorities of pursuing a policy of "blind violence." Ahead of Macron's speech, he urged the president to announce concrete measures to address protesters' demands, warning that continuing the political deadlock could cause the situation to spiral out of control.
Édouard Philippe, the former center-right prime minister who also intends to run for president next year and has generally been polling behind Le Pen and Mélenchon, blamed both the far left, particularly LFI, and the current government. He said Saturday's events represented more than a breakdown of public order, describing them as a challenge to the foundations of the French Republic. Philippe also demanded answers about the intelligence assessments and security preparations undertaken before the riots erupted.
Marine Le Pen and Jean-Luc Mélenchon
(Photo: REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch/Abdul Saboor)
Former French Prime Minister Édouard Philippe
(Photo: REUTERS/Sarah Meyssonnier)
The widespread destruction prompted calls from politicians on both the left and right for Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez to resign. Members of the Green party also demanded a parliamentary commission of inquiry into both the violence and the policing methods used to contain it.
"When a day of demonstrations turns into chaos, we must also examine the responsibility of our leaders, particularly the Interior Ministry, which is responsible for public order and everyone's safety," Green senators wrote. Yaël Braun-Pivet, president of the National Assembly, the lower house of the French parliament, also announced plans to propose a parliamentary inquiry.
30,000 people took part in Marseille looting, authorities say
Macron's address followed a Saturday of widespread violence across France, during which large groups of masked rioters attacked police officers and passersby, set dozens of government buildings on fire and looted hundreds of stores. The unrest erupted after a massive afternoon demonstration against rising living costs and deteriorating public services, attended by hundreds of thousands of people.
Politicians on the right in France and abroad have blamed the violence partly on the far left, which they accuse of fueling the unrest as a show of strength ahead of next year's presidential election. Some have also pointed to immigrants and their descendants, alleging that members of those communities participated heavily in the riots. According to the latest figures cited by French authorities in the report, 2,397 people had been arrested and 997 members of the security forces injured, seven of them seriously.
A woman in Paris tries to stop looters at a supermarket, but fails
Damage and destruction in Paris following Saturday's unrest
(Photo: AP Photo/Emma Da Silva)
(Photo: Sebastien Salom-Gomis / AFP)
France's Chamber of Commerce estimated Sunday afternoon that at least 1,500 businesses nationwide had been damaged, with losses running into hundreds of millions of euros. Hundreds of stores were reportedly looted in Paris alone, where Mayor Emmanuel Grégoire said "entire streets were systematically devastated."
Le Parisien described widespread destruction in several neighborhoods. In the 1st arrondissement, rioters reportedly spared virtually no stores around Les Halles. "Tobacco shops, opticians, beauty salons, pharmacies, clothing stores and more were all damaged," the newspaper reported. In the 10th arrondissement, near Porte Saint-Denis, dozens of additional businesses were vandalized.
The newspaper described piles of garbage and burned bicycles scattered across sidewalks, some still smoldering. Sanitation workers dispatched to the scene told its reporters, "It will take us days to clean all this up."
In Marseille in southern France, Lille in the north, Angers in the west and Bordeaux in the southwest, rioters stormed and vandalized city halls and regional government buildings on Saturday. Authorities in Marseille said Sunday evening that their assessment indicated at least 30,000 people had participated in the looting that swept the city.
In Lyon, southeastern France, the city's tourist information office was set on fire Saturday. Footage from the scene showed one rioter waving a Palestinian flag. Local police said "hostile individuals" had obstructed firefighters sent to bring the blaze under control.
An even more devastating incident occurred in Limoges, central France, where masked rioters set fire to the historic city hall. The ornate building, inaugurated in 1883 and having survived both world wars, collapsed and was "largely destroyed," according to authorities. Its bell tower also came crashing down, in dramatic footage circulated on social media and viewed by millions around the world.
Rioters smash shop windows and flee with stolen merchandise in Paris on Saturday
(Photo: Carl Court/Getty Images)
The riots left many French citizens in shock Sunday. "It's disgraceful, terrifying, these gangs of young people we saw here yesterday, looting and destroying things with impunity," said Cécile Rogue, 57, in Paris.
Similar emotions were expressed outside the destroyed Limoges city hall. "My children got married here. It's heartbreaking," said Jean-Louis, a retired local resident. "You can make demands without destroying everything."
Volunteers spontaneously turned out to help clear debris from the devastated streets of several city centers, partly to overcome their sense of helplessness. "I woke up this morning, was left speechless and just wanted to feel useful," said Clémentine, 47, from Lyon, who came to help with the cleanup.
Trump to France: 'Immigration has crushed you, close your borders!'
The weekend riots followed a nationwide day of protest against the high cost of living, deteriorating public services and rising fuel prices. High school and university students, labor unions and members of the Yellow Vest movement, which emerged in 2018 in opposition to Macron's economic policies, all joined the demonstrations.
Many view Saturday's protests as a continuation of student demonstrations that began last month in schools in impoverished suburbs north of Paris, where pupils have complained of teacher shortages and poor learning conditions. Those protests also saw numerous incidents of violence, and similar unrest has since spread to other European countries, including Belgium.
(Photo: Jeff PACHOUD / AFP)
In France and abroad, some commentators and politicians have emphasized the involvement of immigrants and their descendants from Africa, Arab countries and Muslim-majority nations in the demonstrations and violence. Marion Maréchal, the niece of far-right leader Marine Le Pen and a politician in her own right, said Saturday night: "The whole world is watching in astonishment and disbelief as the children of Mélenchon's 'New France' destroy our country."
The term "New France" was coined by Mélenchon to describe his vision of a society in which immigrant communities are an integral part of the nation. Maréchal has used it critically to warn against demographic changes that she and other figures on the French right regard as a serious threat to the country's future.
US President Donald Trump: 'France is burning!'
(Photo: REUTERS/Annabelle Gordon)
Claims about the role of immigrant communities in the unrest have circulated since the student protests earlier this month, and U.S. President Donald Trump has also weighed in. About two weeks ago, amid a "day of rage" on French streets, Trump wrote on Truth Social that the protests were not really about schools but were a cover for other aims.
"What is happening in France is nothing more than mass immigration that has gotten out of control," he wrote. "This is not about schools, this is about Islam wanting to take over a once great country!"
On Sunday, following the weekend's violence, Trump issued another post attacking France's immigration policies. "France is burning!" he wrote. "Immigration of people from a completely different world, people with hatred in their hearts, has crushed this once great country. Close your borders and take control before it's too late!"
First published: 21:34, 10.18.26