A distraught woman was seen begging rioters in France not to loot her shop on Saturday, as violent demonstrations against the cost of living, education standards and Emmanuel Macron’s government spread across Europe.
The heartbreaking moment was caught on video, as the woman pleaded with a crowd of young male rioters not to raid the store – a plea they ignored, pushing her aside as they entered the smashed shop.
She is heard asking ‘why are you doing this’ and screaming ‘this is not the cause’ as the looters ignore her, with the crowd then appearing to cheer the balaclava-clad rioters as they leave the store with their arms full of stolen goods.
The shop was one of many buildings and businesses to be damaged in Saturday’s demonstrations, which saw more than 1,200 people arrested in France as roughly 550,000 people took to the country’s streets.
The iconic Limoges Town Hall, which was built in 1883 and survived both world wars, came tumbling down in a blaze after it was torched by rioters in the southwest of France.
A video seen by 1.4 million people on X showed the historic hall, which played a significant role in the French Resistance during WWII, collapsing, with its bell tower engulfed in flames.
Elsewhere in Europe, copycat protests also took hold on the streets of Italy and Belgium.
A rally against the cost of living took place in Milan, Italy, which saw numerous clashes with police.
A woman is seen pleading with rioters not to loot her shop, asking: ‘Why are you doing this?’
In Limoges, the iconic town hall – built in 1883 and having played a significant role in the French Resistance – burnt down on Saturday night
The historic Limoges Town Hall, pictured in 2017, was a grand Neo-Renaissance building which served briefly as the official seat of the Belgian government-in-exile in 1940
The woman was pushed aside by looters, while pleading to them: ‘This is not the cause’
Italian police fired tear gas at Italian protesters in the square in front of Milan’s Gothic cathedral, after rioters allegedly threw stones at cops, France 24 reported.
Protesters in Milan also gathered in the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II – a luxury shopping centre. Shop owners put down their shutters and tourists appeared to flea the central area as the clashes turned violent, with the central Duomo metro station being temporarily closed.
Several people were reported to be injured and a number of arrests were made, according to Italian media.
Meanwhile, in Brussels, demonstrators were seen standing on an overturned car during a students’ protest in Belgium, inspired by the protests in France.
Several hundred people, mostly of a younger demographic, took to the streets of the capital on Saturday.
They also clashed with police as they protested against rising education costs and reforms which many believe could make higher education less accessible.
In Paris, protesters were seen lobbing baguettes at riot police, as the protests quickly descended into violence.
A tourist office and cars were set on fire by rioters in France, who took to the streets to protest in their hundreds of thousands, including 110,000 in Paris alone.
Protesters clashed with French police as they demonstrated in Nantes, western France, on Saturday
French police push a burning rubbish bin set alight by protesters away in Nantes
A protester holds a placard reading ‘Youth in struggle, system in collapse’ in front of a burning barricade in Paris on Saturday
French police responded with tear gas and water cannons and made over a thousand arrests.
France’s Yellow Vest activists joined student protesters, with some of the worst violence was in the eastern city of Lyon, where a tourist office was set on fire by a violent gang.
In Bordeaux, a video circulated on social media showing the upmarket Galeries Lafayette, which had been recently renovated, being stormed by hundreds of protesters.
In other videos, shopworkers were seen watching on helplessly as looters destroyed the aisles and appeared to fill bags with stolen goods.
Sixty law enforcement officers were injured during the clashes in France on Saturday – two of whom were taken to hospital unconscious – France’s interior minister Laurent Nuñez said in an update on Saturday evening.
Nuñez confirmed that looting, or attempted looting, was recorded in many cities, including Paris, Rouen, Nantes, Toulouse and Marseille.
France’s prime minister Sébastien Lecornu issued a statement addressing the protesters, saying ‘we will not be intimidated’ and adding that the perpetrators should bear the cost of the damage from the protests.
Many rioters appeared to wield the national symbol of baguettes as weapons, with some dressed in balaclavas and wearing all black throwing the bread at police as the clashes unravelled.
A protester runs past a burning car amid clashes in Paris on Saturday
Protesters wearing balaclavas and dressed in all black were pictured holding baguettes as they clashed with police on the streets
A man wearing goggles and a balaclava storms past a police van in Nice, southern France
A police officer attempts to extinguish a burning trash bin during a demonstration in Nantes, France
Youths wearing face masks and hoodies broke into City Hall in Marseille earlier on Saturday, where they vandalised a statue of Marianne, the female personification of the French Republic.
Meanwhile, there was fighting on the Place de la République – the Paris square – and close to the Gare du Nord Eurostar hub, where high-speed trains travel to and from London.
Shops and businesses have barricaded their windows and doors and multiple metro stations in the French capital have been closed.
Lecornu wrote on X at 5pm on Saturday: ‘Peaceful demonstrations have their rightful place in our Republic. Arson, looting and attacks have no place whatsoever.’
‘Today, ultraleft groups have orchestrated violence in several French cities; delinquents have joined in to pillage and destroy.
‘At a time when some are seeking to cast blame on our law enforcement forces, I want to tell the French people that they can be proud of their police officers and gendarmes.
‘They have faced violence of extreme intensity to protect our fellow citizens, and they deserve all our support.’
He continued: ‘To those who clearly want to use these acts of violence as a “warm-up” before the presidential election, I say this plainly: we will not be intimidated.
A protester wrapped in a French national flag stands in front of Lyon’s tourism office, which was set on fire
A protester throws projectiles at a burning car during a demonstration against rising living costs and cuts to public services in Paris
Protesters flee as tear gas canisters are shot into the crowd by police in Lille
Demonstrators stand on an overturned car during a students’ protest in Brussels, Belgium
A police officer scuffles with a protester in Brussels, Belgium
French police deploy a water cannon against protesters during violence in Paris
Smoke rises as protesters attend a demonstration at Place de la Bourse in Bordeaux
A protester waving a French national flag walks past a fire in Marseille on Saturday morning – as clashes are expected across the country
Students, trade unionists and members of the Gilets Jaunes – Yellow Jackets – are joining forces in nationwide protests on Saturday
The tourism office in Lyon was completely gutted by flames as violence broke out across France
A protester holds a weapon (right) believed to be a paintball pistol outside a police station in Marseille
French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte were spotted at a Celine Dion concert in Paris on Friday night
Police officers push back a line of protesters in Paris on Saturday morning
‘No one will impose their political agenda through violence. The instructions given are clear: prevent abuses, protect property and people, apprehend the perpetrators, and bring them before the courts.
‘We will see through the full debate on the “pay-the-damagers” bill. Public money is scarce: it must fund our public services, not endlessly repair what vandals destroy. It is up to them to bear the cost.’
In the southern city of Saint-Etienne, a protester had his hand blown off by a police crowd-control grenade, a police source has said.
It is the second such incident in recent days. On October 5, a 15-year-old student lost his left hand when a stun grenade exploded outside his school in Lens during protests.
Mr Macron and his wife, Brigitte Macron, were meanwhile accused of acting like the out-of-touch King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette at the start of the 1789 Revolution.
The Macrons attended a Céline Dion concert on Friday night, and were seen dancing in a private box.
The violence across France is part of a nationwide day of action against the cost of living and widespread inequality.
There have also been almost five weeks of protests by school and university students against France’s crumbling education system.
People gather in Paris holding placards as they protest high prices and poor economic and social conditions
Protesters gather at the Place de la Republique in Paris, where they waved the French flag and set off flares
Protesters briefly broke into the town hall in Marseille on Saturday afternoon
People shoot fireworks during protests in Paris – many on the streets wore masks and black hoods to hide their identities
They have now been joined by numerous other social groups, including the infamous Yellow Vests – or Gilets Jaunes – who brought chaos to France in 2018 over a sharp increase in diesel taxes.
Macron had called for calm last night, asking that protesters maintained ‘respect for people and property’.
He will be forced to stand down in May, after completing the maximum two terms allowed for any French president.
Mr Macron’s prime minister, Sebastian Lecornu, admitted: ‘We are in an atmosphere of perma-crisis – wars, inflation, and issues surrounding purchasing power.’
Jordan Bardella, the head of the far-Right National Rally (NR) party – which is leading the polls ahead of next year’s presidential election – said was unsurprised by the clashes.
‘I’m extremely concerned,’ he said. ‘It will be a day of chaos for France.’
His mentor, Marine Le Pen, is hoping to replace Mr Macron as president, if she can reverse a criminal conviction for embezzling money from the European Parliament on appeal.
The protests come at a difficult time for France, as President Emmanuel Macron enters the final stretch of his presidency, leaving behind a polarised electorate and a fragmented domestic political situation.
Masked protesters form barricades in the streets of Paris using wooden boards and bins
A car burns during protests at Place de la Republique on Saturday in Paris
Investors ditching French debt, driving borrowing costs to their highest levels in more than two decades, have also underlined the country’s long struggle to get its public finances in order.
Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu said on Thursday that authorities fear unrest during the protests.
The government blames the hard-Left France Unbowed (LFI) for inflaming the protests, an accusation LFI denies.
‘This is a moment of fatigue in the country,’ Lecornu said. ‘We are in an atmosphere of perma-crisis: wars, inflation, and issues surrounding purchasing power.’
Opposition chief Jordan Bardella, whose far-Right National Rally leads in the polls ahead of next year’s presidential election, said he expected violence.
‘I’m extremely concerned,’ he said during a visit to the Paris car show. ‘It will be a day of chaos for France.’
Lecornu has said the recent protests have been among the most violent in decades, with more than 900 police injured so far.
The police have also drawn criticism for their response after reports of serious injuries sustained by protesters, including one 15-year-old who had his hand blown off after picking up a police stun grenade, and a 16-year-old who was blinded by a rubber bullet.
A fire is seen on the streets of Marseille, France as protests continued throughout the day
Protesters block roads during a demonstration near to the Gare du Nord in Paris
Riot police in Marseille hold shields covered in paint thrown by activists
Protesters flee tear gas in Marseille as thousands gathered in the city
French riot police stand in position next to a water cannon amid clashes with protesters during a demonstration against the cost of living and rising fuel prices at the Place de la Republique
Flames and smoke engulf the sky in Marseille
Tear gas canisters fired by police in Marseille saw protesters scatter
Protesters damage a police station in Marseille amid nationwide protests
Bins are set alight in Paris – more than 160 arrests had been made by mid-morning on Saturday across France
Large swathes of peaceful protests also took place including in the Place de la Republique
An officer was charged with aggravated violence on Tuesday after allegedly firing the bullet at the student in Tours, France, on September 30. The family of the injured pupil have blamed the force.
The internal police watchdog is investigating at least two dozen cases of alleged police violence. France suspended the use of stun grenades for the student demonstrations, but Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said they could be used in Saturday’s protest.
‘If there were to be clashes, all types of intermediate weapons can be used,’ he told Telematin on Friday.
Calls on social media for members of past protest movements to join the fray appear to have worked, raising questions about just how large the protests could grow.
The Yellow Vest movement started in 2018 as a protest against taxes on diesel before morphing into an outpouring of anger at high living costs and income inequality. However, things have been largely quiet since Macron agreed to billions of euros in tax cuts.
Yannick Maillou, a teacher from La Crèche in western France, joined the Yellow Vests in 2018 and remains involved in the movement. He said there were several nearby meeting points for protesters to gather on Saturday, with unions also calling on their members to join.
French police intervene during protests against rising living costs, high fuel prices and government education reforms in Paris
Officers on motorbikes are seen in Paris as they respond to protests around the city
A protester throws fireworks during protests in Bordeaux, France
A protester is detained by police officers during a demonstration in Toulouse
‘Groups of people providing medical assistance are forming in anticipation of police violence,’ he said.
Myrtil Devillers, another Yellow Vest protester, said he was sympathetic to the protesters’ ‘explosive catch-all of grievances’ although he won’t be protesting on Saturday as he is abroad.
‘I was a Yellow Vest protester when petrol cost €1.40 a litre, so imagine how I feel now that it’s €2.20,’ he said.
‘The justice system is complaining; the education system is complaining; the healthcare sector is complaining; my friends who run businesses are complaining.’
