Hundreds arrested in Paris as rioters defy Macron (VIDEOS)

Hundreds arrested in Paris as rioters defy Macron (VIDEOS)

Protests over rising living costs and education funding have swept major French cities over the weekend
Nearly 350 people were arrested in Paris on Sunday and overnight amid violent unrest sweeping France despite President Emmanuel Macron’s appeals for calm, the authorities said on Monday.
Hundreds of thousands protested rising living costs and education funding cuts over the weekend, with demonstrations escalating into clashes with police, arson and looting.
The violence erupted Saturday as Yellow Vest demonstrations merged with student protests that began last month at a high school in Creteil, near Paris, over teacher shortages and deteriorating facilities. The movement has since broadened into protests against inequality and rising living costs, with labor unions joining in opposition to the government’s proposed 2027 budget and spending cuts.
Despite Macron’s Friday appeal for calm and respect, Paris endured two days of rioting. On Sunday, protesters clashed with police near Place de la Republique as vehicles and trach cans burned, shops were looted and officers deployed tear gas and water cannons.
Footage showed charred wreckage, shattered storefronts, smashed advertising signs and graffiti-covered businesses.
A crowd also attacked RT Arabic correspondent Wafa Fakkani while she was filming the protests. Her cameraman captured the incident before the crew escaped and resumed reporting.

A day prior, violence hit some of the capital’s wealthiest shopping districts, where luxury retailers were targeted by vandals and looters. Paris Mayor Emmanuel Gregoire said entire streets had been systematically devastated.
Galeries Lafayette in Paris is being looted tonight.It’s the French equivalent of Harrods in London or Bergdorf Goodman in NYC https://t.co/F5jZU4bswZ
— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) Clashes also erupted in Marseille, Lyon, Lille, Bordeaux, Angers, and Limoges, damaging businesses and public buildings. Alain Di Crescenzo, head of the CCI France chamber of commerce network, estimated that more than 2,000 businesses were affected, with damage reaching hundreds of millions of euros.
Read more Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin put nationwide turnout at 550,000, including 110,000 in Paris, while organizing trade unions, including the CGT, and student groups estimated that 800,000 people took part. Darmanin told France 2 on Monday that, in total, more than 2,330 people had been detained over the weekend, including around 855 in the capital. Nearly 1,000 police officers and gendarmes were reportedly injured.
Although the worst rioting had subsided by Monday morning, students and union activists blocked access to the iconic Louvre Museum, denouncing police repression. Footage showed demonstrators gathering outside the museum’s glass pyramid after passing security, prompting its temporary closure.
🚨🇫🇷 ALERTE INFO !"ACAB, ACAB, ACAB !"Devant la pyramide du Louvre à Paris, des étudiants d’écoles d’art et de culture manifestent et bloquent l’entrée du musée.(@JBSemerdjian / Le Figaro) https://t.co/zpH7KcHPX4
— Impact (@ImpactMediaFR) Action and reactionPoliticians across France’s political spectrum blamed Macron and his government for the unrest, accusing the administration of undermining public services and failing to maintain order.
Marine Le Pen, who leads first-round polling for the 2027 presidential election, called Macron a president without credibility or authority, describing his administration as a government on its last legs. Jean-Luc Melenchon, leader of the left-wing France Unbowed party, blamed ten disastrous years of Macron weakening public services. The mayors of Paris, Marseille and Limoges accused Interior Minister Laurent Nunez and police commanders of incompetence in maintaining public order.
Nunez initially blamed opportunistic troublemakers for the unrest, but admitted Monday that police had suffered a loss of control due to poor planning. He sa