French government holds crisis meeting after mass unrest — BBC News
In France, Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu is holding a crisis government meeting on Monday following large-scale unrest and rioting that took place during Saturday's protests against the rising cost of living and worsening access to public services. According to BBC News, these events were among the most serious manifestations of public disorder in the country's modern history.
Rioting during protests
More than half a million people took part in the demonstrations on Saturday. Most participants protested peacefully over the cost of living, the state of public services and education. Groups of activists and vandals dressed in black and wearing masks later appeared, after which the protests escalated into violence and looting.
About 1,500 shops and businesses were estimated to have been looted or destroyed. Police used tear gas and water cannons, while in several places, according to the BBC, officers beat people with batons. France's Interior Ministry said that about 1,000 police officers were injured on Saturday, seven of them seriously.
Vandals defaced the Statue of the Republic in Paris. Graffiti about dark times for the “City of Light” also appeared near a number of damaged shops in the French capital.
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Macron's response and criticism
French President Emmanuel Macron, in a televised address on Sunday, called for national unity and said those responsible for the violence would be punished. Before the address, rumours had spread in the country about the possible introduction of a temporary curfew in certain areas or a state of emergency, but the president did not announce such decisions.
Macron's address was criticised by political opponents and social media users, who pointed to a lack of specifics. Sophie Binet, general secretary of the CGT trade union, said that the president had not addressed students' concerns, the cost-of-living crisis or the deterioration in the quality of public services.
Yaël Braun-Pivet, speaker of the lower house of parliament, wants to initiate an investigation into the circumstances of the unrest. Macron and Lecornu placed responsibility for the violence on radical far-left groups and offenders. Left-wing leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon accused the government of incompetence, while Marine Le Pen accused Macron's administration of exhaustion and disorientation.
Some trade unions and the Yellow Vest movement have announced new large-scale protests for 5 November.
