More than 2,000 people have now been arrested across France over Saturday's riots, and more than 600 police officers, gendarmes and firefighters were injured, Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said on Sunday. He warned the injury toll "is unfortunately only provisional." The new figures came as police fired tear gas at a fresh gathering in Paris's Place de la République.
The Paris police prefecture said a call for an undeclared rally at the square at 2 PM Paris time (8 AM ET) had spread on social media. Several hundred people turned up. Shortly before 3 PM, riot police moved in "to disperse and arrest" them using tear gas and stun grenades, according to AFP and the prefecture. Barricades and fires followed in nearby streets. Franceinfo reported that at least one shop near the square was looted.
Nuñez blamed "several thousand individuals from the ultra-left" who were later joined by looters. He said investigators had started work on Sunday to identify those responsible. Paris prosecutors said at least 557 people were in custody in the capital, 151 of them minors.
The retail federation FCD said about 1,500 businesses were hit, with damage of "several hundred million euros." Police watchdog IGPN has opened three inquiries into injuries suffered by protesters, including a 17-year-old in Mulhouse who lost the use of one eye. National Assembly Speaker Yaël Braun-Pivet will propose a parliamentary inquiry into the violence and the policing response.
In a televised address to the nation on Sunday at 8 PM Paris time (2 PM ET), President Emmanuel Macron said "nothing justifies this." "Those who destroyed must pay, those who looted must pay it back, and those who sought to bring down the Republic must answer for it," he said.
Photo: CLPRESS / X (video still, Place de la République, Oct. 18, 2026)
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