Videos went viral on social media on October 17, 2026, showing rioters in France burning down a city hall in Limoges, torching cars in Paris, and looting in Bordeaux and Marseille.
According to CNN, 1,000 people were detained amid the chaos, more than 500,000 protesters hit the streets throughout France. Buildings were “torched,” the cable news network noted.
You can see videos of the unrest here:
- See a video of the Limoges city hall ablaze. The building was a historic landmark that dated to 1883.
- A video in central Paris showed cars on fire and smoke filling the air.
- Rioters threw objects at this video in Marseille.
- In Bordeaux, a Louis Vuitton store was looted. A Rolex store was looted in Marseilles.
- Rioting spread to Milan, Italy.
- Cars and other vehicles were torched in Paris.
- A man perched on top of a Saint Joan of Arc statue in Paris.
What sparked the protests and riots? According to The New York Times, people protested “against rising living and fuel costs that built on weeks of high school protests.” There were at least 110 marches planned throughout the country, as some protests remained peaceful and others turned into rioting with arson fires.
The Unrest Spread to Marseille, France, Where a Bust of Marianne Was Knocked Over
According to The Times, the riots “were overtaken by violent confrontations between rioters and police officers,” including in the city of Marseille, where people broke into City Hall and “knocked over a bust of Marianne, a symbol of the French Republic.”
It wasn’t the only symbolic moment. One video showed a person climbing on a Joan of Arc statue. Rioters in black clothes, masks and goggles set a tourism office on fire in Lyon, The Times noted.
In Paris, rioters smashed cars and smashed stores, The Times reported, although more protesters remained peaceful.
Emmanuel Macron wrote on social media: “There is no place for violence in our republic.”
“Those who have broken, attacked the prefectures as well as businesses, looted even our town halls, will be prosecuted and punished,” he added. “To the law enforcement forces, guarantors of the right to demonstrate, I express the support of the Nation. We will all stand united against the sowers of chaos, who seek only to bring down our institutions and prevent those who peacefully express their demands from doing so.”
Luxury Stores Were Looted by ‘Violent Fringe Groups’
According to Reuters, “violent fringe groups targeted public buildings, looted luxury boutiques and supermarkets and attacked police vehicles and officers.”
French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu took to X and wrote, “To those who clearly want to use this violence as a ‘warm-up’ before the presidential election, I say clearly: We will not let ourselves be intimidated. No one will impose their political agenda through violence.”
He added: “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.”
France Riot Videos Go Viral in Paris, Marseille