As reported on Instagram
National Rally leader Marine Le Pen told franceinfo on Wednesday that the violence which swept France over the weekend was foreseeable and that the authorities had failed to prepare for it. "What happened on Saturday was predictable," she said. "We are facing a collapsing state." She accused the government of having "lost control of everything."
The unrest began on Saturday, October 17, when nationwide demonstrations against the rising cost of living and deteriorating public services drew about 550,000 people by the official count, with unions claiming closer to 800,000. In Paris, Lyon, Marseille, Bordeaux and other cities, groups of rioters looted shops — including Louis Vuitton, Hermès and Apple stores — burned cars and attacked public buildings. The 143-year-old town hall in Limoges was set ablaze and largely destroyed, protesters forced their way into Marseille's city hall and toppled a bust of Marianne, and a tourist office in Lyon was set on fire. Authorities said at least 2,400 people were arrested, more than 600 police officers were injured, and around 3,000 businesses were damaged or looted. One protester died of cardiac arrest in Paris, and violence flared again in the capital on Sunday, when the CRS-8 rapid-response riot unit was deployed for a second consecutive day.
President Emmanuel Macron addressed the nation on television on Sunday evening. "Nothing justifies it, nothing explains it, nothing excuses it," he said, blaming "agitators from ultra-left fringe groups, joined by numerous delinquents." He stopped short of declaring a state of emergency but said prefects and mayors would be allowed to ban certain gatherings. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez offered his resignation on Sunday, saying he was responsible for what had happened; Macron refused it on Monday, citing the need for continued command of the security forces, and ordered full transparency about the planning and intelligence failures that preceded the violence. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu announced partial local curfews in several cities, including Paris, Lyon and Marseille, and on Thursday, after a security council meeting, Macron said only demonstrations organized by recognized unions would be authorized.
Le Pen demanded that prosecutors show "absolute firmness" toward those responsible for the looting and that perpetrators be made to pay for the damage, with the cost deducted from benefits or wages if needed. "They will pay, and if necessary, for life," she said. "For the parents of minors, it is the parents who will pay." She also questioned the curfews imposed after the unrest: "I'm not at all sure that the curfew is the cause of this lull." In a video message released on Sunday, she had already said Macron no longer holds any "credibility or authority," describing his government as "exhausted, disoriented and seemingly incapable of doing anything other than commenting on its own powerlessness," and warning of a "crisis of confidence" that amounts to "a threat to democracy." Her party president, Jordan Bardella, said during a visit to a Paris police station that "order no longer exists in France today" and that "France was humiliated."
Other political leaders traded blame over the violence. Far-left leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon, who joined the Paris march on Saturday, accused Lecornu of "playing with fire" while insisting that his supporters "have no business in looting or destruction." The mayors of Paris, Marseille and Lyon — France's three largest cities — requested a meeting with the prime minister over the extent of the damage and what they described as a lack of police preparation. U.S. President Donald Trump posted "France is burning!" on Truth Social, linking the unrest to immigration; French authorities and police have not linked immigrants to the rioting.
The crisis comes in the final months of Macron's presidency, six months before the presidential election of April 2027, in which Le Pen — the National Rally's candidate — leads in recent polls. Former Macron-camp lawmaker Jean-Baptiste Moreau told Reuters that "Le Pen no longer needs to spend any money to campaign," calling the road ahead of her "a six-lane highway." Le Pen confirmed that National Rally would send representatives to Lecornu's meeting with political parties on Thursday, rejecting suggestions her party was boycotting the talks. The protest movement itself began on September 21 with students demonstrating against dilapidated school buildings, teacher shortages and tight class schedules, before merging with a public-sector strike against government spending cuts.