PARIS, Oct 19,2026: President Emmanuel Macron turned down his interior minister’s offer to resign, telling him instead on Monday to put an end to barricades and looting and be transparent over intelligence failings, as France licked its wounds from weekend rioting.
The protests follow weeks of student demonstrations with occasional bouts of street violence, rocking the country six months ahead of its next presidential election and increasing pressures over a weak economy and surging debt.
Fears of tensions inside Macron’s fragile government over apparent security shortcomings — coming just as the government needs to pass a much-needed budget bill to rein in its finances — are set to further unsettle investors.
At the weekend, hundreds of thousands took to the streets to protest over what many say are declining and dysfunctional public services that leave citizens to fend for themselves amid cost-of-living pressures.
In many places including the capital Paris, Marseille and the city of Lyon, peaceful protests were quickly hijacked by rioters, leading to scenes of vandalism and chaos.
INTELLIGENCE FAILURES
France deployed 60,000 police and other security forces on Saturday, Interior Minister Laurent Nunez told France Inter radio, but acknowledged that wasn’t enough to control violent crowds in “certain cities”.
Macron’s presidential office, the Elysee, said on Monday that Nunez, a former Paris police chief, offered the president his resignation following the riots.
Macron refused, but urged Nunez to urgently come up with new concepts “to put an end to the barricades and looting,” the Elysee said.
France wakes up to destruction
France was left counting the cost of a night of violence after protests over the rising cost of living spiralled into looting, arson and clashes with police. By Sunday, streets across several cities were littered with burnt debris, smashed shopfronts and damaged vehicles, while authorities reported around 1,800 arrests nationwide.
‘It’s like we had a war’
In central Paris, the damage was difficult to ignore. Burnt barricades and debris marked streets where protesters had clashed with police. “It’s like we had a war,” 78-year-old resident Mehmet Ozeden told AFP. The capital’s deputy mayor, Lamia El Aaraje, said the city had witnessed an unprecedented level of violence.
Fire guts Limoges’ historic town hall
The violence reached beyond Paris, leaving a historic landmark in Limoges destroyed by fire. The city’s 19th-century town hall was deliberately set alight, local prefect Maurice Barate told news channel LCI. Firefighters brought the blaze under control only early Sunday. In Lyon, clashes and looting also left residents and businesses counting their losses.
Macron faces mounting pressure
President Emmanuel Macron faced renewed political pressure as the unrest unfolded just six months before elections to choose his successor. He had vowed that those responsible for vandalism and looting would face prosecution and punishment. Macron was scheduled to address the nation on Sunday evening after meeting key ministers to discuss the crisis.
Trump blames immigration
US President Donald Trump on Sunday (Oct 18) linked the unrest to immigration and called for tighter border controls. “France is burning!” he wrote on Truth Social, urging the country to close its borders. His comments followed similar remarks by Vice President JD Vance a day earlier, adding an international political dimension to France’s domestic crisis.
The human cost of the unrest
The damage extended beyond buildings and businesses. Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said around 500 police officers, firefighters and paramedics were injured during the protests. A 17-year-old boy lost his right hand after a crowd-control grenade exploded in Saint-Etienne. One person died during the main Paris march, although officials said the death was health-related and unrelated to the violence.
