About 50 people forced their way into the 143-year-old city hall in Limoges, France, on Saturday and set it on fire during nationwide protests over the cost of living. Witnesses told AFP that masked protesters torched a police car outside, smashed windows and went inside to start the blaze, which spread to the roof. The building’s bell tower collapsed in the evening, local public broadcasters France 3 and ici Limousin reported.
“The roof has collapsed onto lower floors, except the west wing, and two-thirds of the exterior has already disappeared,” regional prefect Maurice Barate told AFP, calling it a “catastrophe for heritage” and a “deliberate act by hooligans.” Firefighters were still fighting it late Saturday. Four police vehicles were burned and shops looted, local media reported.
Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez called it “a break-in and arson.” He said 550,000 people marched nationwide, about 400 were arrested and 60 officers were injured, blaming the violence on the “hard left and extreme left.” In Paris, cars were set on fire and shops looted as police used tear gas and water cannons, the Associated Press reported. Looting was also reported in Marseille and Lyon.
The protests began last month at high schools in the poor northern suburbs of Paris over teacher shortages and run-down schools. Saturday’s protests grew out of online calls to revive the “yellow vest” movement against high fuel and living costs, backed by student groups and the CGT union.
President Emmanuel Macron said there is “no place for violence” and that those who “looted” town halls will be “prosecuted and punished.”
Photo: French President Emmanuel Macron speaks at a news conference in Brussels, March 6, 2025. European Union (attribution license, via Wikimedia Commons)
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