France remains surrendered to the flames and absolute chaos, as sweeping demonstrations against high prices, energy poverty, and the policies of Emmanuel Macron have transformed the largest cities of the country into battlefields.
With the toll of the latest 24-hour storm recording 1,200 arrests, 150 injured police officers, one dead in Paris, and a 17-year-old maimed in Saint-Étienne, the French capital and urban centers are experiencing nightmarish moments reminiscent of an unprecedented insurrection.
«As if all of Paris is burning»
The image of the French metropolis is disheartening.
Greek and foreign travelers who encountered the scene describe unprecedented situations and how they had to walk for hours through closed metro stations and blocked streets.
«There is chaos... across all of Paris», they note pointedly, describing torched bins, a suffocating atmosphere from tear gas, and blazes that firefighters fought hard to bring under control.
Correspondents from French media, such as Le Parisien, reported scenes of «urban guerrilla warfare» barely 400 meters from the Élysée, with overturned cars, barricades, and assaults on riot police units.
Scenes of urban warfare and devastation, looting at Louis Vuitton, Apple, and fury among police unions
The anger of the demonstrators spiraled completely out of control, spreading nationwide.
The mobilizations in major cities quickly turned into battlegrounds, with hundreds of torched cars, smashed ATMs, burned transit stops, and extensive looting of designer luxury goods stores, while the educational community is collapsing, as in preceding days 400 to 500 schools were vandalized or shut down.
- In Paris, attacks were launched against the headquarters of television station CNews as well as a local police station.
Simultaneously, organized raids and looting were recorded along commercial avenues.
- In Limoges, protesters torched the historic 19th-century town hall building, causing the collapse of the roof and the iconic clock tower.
The mayor of the city, Guillaume Guérin, described the incident as unacceptable and abhorrent.
Those responsible for the arson, according to him, operated in an organized and methodical manner regarding the fire sparked at the historic town hall.
- In Lyon, the building of the tourism agency was surrendered to the flames.
- In Marseille, groups of hooded individuals stormed into the town hall lobby, toppling the bust of Marianne, and assaulted a Hermès boutique.
- Bordeaux: Groups of masked individuals broke in and ransacked the Louis Vuitton store.
- Lille: An Apple store was looted and sustained severe damage.
- Grenoble: Protesters seized a miniature tourist train, using it as a «battering ram» against police forces.
At the same time, police unions are issuing a cry of desperation, stressing that law enforcement officers are being treated as a «punching bag» in traps and ambushes across France.
The energy crisis, sanctions on Russia, and top-level political conflict
The explosion of this social discontent is no bolt from the blue.
More than half a million protesters, among them school pupils, university students, and members of the «Yellow Vests», flooded the streets of major urban centers, protesting against the explosive wave of price hikes and the unbearable surge in the cost of living, while rents and energy (electricity, heating, fuel) have crushed the popular strata, as a direct outcome of the policy of cutting off cheap Russian energy sources and channeling massive state funds to Ukraine.
Fury against Macron and the demand for political change
President Emmanuel Macron condemned the riots, stressing that the right to protest demands respect and that the presence of elements who take to the streets «solely to destroy» is intolerable.
However, he cannot calm the dissatisfaction directed against him.
Social fury against the French President has reached a historic high, with demonstrators chanting rhythmically «Macron leave» and adopting extreme slogans recalling the beheading of King Louis XVI.
The leader of the Left, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, although backing the massive mobilizations, was forced to distance himself from the images of devastation, stating that «looting is completely contrary to our methods».
Polling reflection of the rage
The governmental inability to manage the crisis completely dismantles Macron’s profile, bringing Marine Le Pen and her patriotic party to the fore as the sole path for catharsis and the salvation of the country.
Polling data for the presidential elections of April 2027 show Le Pen sweeping with figures in the range of 37% to 38% in the first round, leaving the second candidate far behind at 17%.
This trend reflects a broader and clear turn of Europe toward the patriotic right, as confirmed by the surge of Chega in Portugal (28%), the AfD in Germany (30%), the FPÖ in Austria (38%), and Vox in Spain (18%).
The price of colonialism and the ghost of the «Yellow Vests»
Analysts and political observers point out that the current wave of anger reignites the deep rift opened by the «Yellow Vests» in 2018 to 2019, acquiring however uncontrollable features now. Concurrently, the impact of the protests spills beyond French borders, sparking similar mobilizations and riots in Belgium, Italy, and Albania, proving that the European powder keg is now one step away from total conflagration.
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