Paris and several French cities witnessed unprecedented acts of violence on Saturday, including the destruction of entire streets in the capital, the burning of cars, and the looting of stores. French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez announced on Sunday in a statement followed by the news video agency that more than 1,800 people were arrested during and after the protests, following a reported count of 1,200 arrests on Saturday. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu stated, "We will not allow ourselves to be intimidated; no one will impose their political agenda through violence." In his comments on the events, U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance pointed out that immigration and integration issues are the causes of the violence in France.
Looting and destruction in several cities
The police, which deployed officers in several neighborhoods of the capital, resorted to using tear gas to confront demonstrators, most of whom wore black clothing and masks, with some launching projectiles and fireworks at security forces.
Paris Deputy Mayor Emmanuel Grégoire stated that entire streets in the capital "were vandalized."
In the city of Saint-Étienne, a 17-year-old boy had his right hand amputated due to the explosion of a bomb used by the police to disperse crowds.
During and after the demonstrations, groups of young people roamed the streets of several cities, sometimes clashing with police, while cars were set on fire and closed stores were attacked and looted.
The looting affected dozens of stores, including major shops, pharmacies, luxury goods shops, clothing stores, cosmetics, and electronics in Paris, Marseille, Nice, Nantes, Bordeaux, Limoges, Lille, Toulouse, and Strasbourg.
Reporters from the French news agency in Paris reported that small groups of young people carried out looting in an organized manner, as individuals, wearing masks and gloves, disabled surveillance cameras before smashing the glass fronts of stores and breaking in.
Acts of vandalism targeted municipal buildings and public facilities in several cities. In Limoges, a fire broke out in a historic building considered a historical landmark, and another fire erupted in a building in downtown Grenoble, as well as in a branch of the tourism office in Lyon.
A local official reported that the historic town hall building in Limoges, which is over 140 years old, was severely damaged by a fire set by masked protesters after they stormed it.
Additionally, two town hall buildings in Marseille and Lille were stormed and vandalized, while acts of vandalism targeted a police complex in Bordeaux and a tourism office in Lyon.
In Paris, about a hundred protesters also attacked the headquarters of the "CNews" television channel, owned by the conservative billionaire Vincent Bolloré, throwing projectiles at the facade, according to the police.