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European superpower France is once again engulfed in the flames of severe civil unrest, violence and arson. The movement of protesters who took to the streets against the rising inflation, ever-increasing cost of living crisis and crumbling public services in the country soon transformed into uncontrolled and violent riots. From the capital Paris to Lyon, Marseille, Bordeaux and Lille, the situation became so tense that the police had to use tear gas shells and water cannons. During this widespread disturbance, masked rioters stormed the showrooms of the world’s most famous luxury brands and looted goods worth crores, while in the central French city of Limoges, a 143-year-old World War I-era administrative heritage was burnt to ashes.
The most heartbreaking picture of this nationwide violence emerged from the central French city of Limoges. Late Saturday evening, hundreds of masked miscreants first set fire to the police van parked outside the Town Hall complex and then broke the windows and entered the 143-year-old historic building. The rioters set fire to the main hall of the building, which quickly spread to the entire structure. By the time the fire brigade personnel reached the spot, this 19th century historical heritage and its priceless cultural documents were engulfed in fierce flames. The Municipal Corporation employees standing outside the burning building were seen crying bitterly after seeing this historical heritage being destroyed in front of their eyes.
Rioters created a ruckus in the prestigious Champs-Élysées of Paris and the commercial hub of the city of Lille, targeting capitalism and the corporate system. The windows of tech giant Apple’s huge store in the city of Lille were shattered with hammers and stones as rioters emptied counters full of iPhones, MacBooks and iPads and fled within minutes. Whereas in Paris and Marseille, the shutters of high-end luxury stores like Louis Vuitton, Hermès, Dior and Goyard were pulled down and designer handbags, watches and expensive clothes worth millions of euros were looted. Describing the situation, the Deputy Mayor of Paris said that many major roads of the capital have been completely destroyed.
According to French Interior Ministry data, at least 5.5 lakh people joined the nationwide movement on Saturday, while major labor organization CGT claimed that more than 8 lakh people were on the streets across the country. As extremist elements and groups associated with ‘Yellow Vests’ came forward under the guise of a peaceful march, the situation became chaotic. More than 150 security personnel have been injured in the clashes, while police have arrested more than 1,200 rioters and looters overnight. Protesters set fire to the tourist information center in Lyon, while causing heavy damage by throwing stones at police headquarters in Bordeaux and municipal offices in Marseille.
French President Emmanuel Macron addressed the countrymen, adopting a strict stance on the incidents of violence and looting. Macron wrote on the social media platform X that ‘There is no place for violence in our republic. Those who vandalized public property, attacked police, looted business establishments and set the Town Hall on fire will be given the strictest punishment under the law. The country’s newly appointed Prime Minister Sebastian Lecornu also made it clear that the government will not bow down to mobocracy and disturbance under any circumstances.
The roots of this fire that broke out in France are hidden in the social and economic resentment that has been burning for a long time. For the last several months, the prices of food grains and energy have been skyrocketing in the country, due to which the household budget of the common middle class and rural population has completely collapsed. Along with this, students were agitating for the last three weeks against the shortage of teachers in schools, poor health services and difficult admission rules in universities, which had the support of more than 57% of the general public.
US Vice President JD Vance also reacted sharply to this international crisis. Vance posted on Twitter and questioned Europe’s policies on immigration, saying that ‘Western liberals ignored basic integration and stability, resulting in the burning of historic buildings today’. He expressed hope that France would soon be able to control this madness.
The situation remains extremely tense across France and deployment of heavy police forces and armored vehicles continues in sensitive cities.