Macron vows to punish rioters as France counts the cost of protest violence

French President Emmanuel Macron said people who attacked prefectures, shops and town halls during Saturday’s cost-of-living protests “will be prosecuted and punished”, as cities began clearing up on Sunday 18 October.

Post by Emmanuel Macron on X, 17 October 2026, 5:48pm GMT

Update, 10:09pm GMT Sunday: In his address on Sunday evening, Mr Macron said prefects, working with mayors, would take the decisions needed to protect towns, public buildings and shops, including banning “certain gatherings” if necessary, 20 Minutes reported. Opposition figures from the Greens, La France Insoumise and the National Rally called for Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez to resign, and Republicans leader Bruno Retailleau asked Mr Macron to declare a state of emergency (full story).

On Sunday, the Bouches-du-Rhône police prefecture told 20 Minutes that at the peak of Saturday’s unrest it had counted 8,000 rioters and more than 30,000 looters in Marseille, with 99 people taken into custody. Marseille Mayor Benoît Payan questioned the looter figure on BFMTV. In Paris, looting resumed near Place de la République on Sunday afternoon and the CRS 8, a police unit specialising in urban violence, was deployed for a second day, 20 Minutes reported. About 7,000 people gathered in Limoges on Sunday evening to march to the town hall, which was set on fire on Saturday.

The Mulhouse prosecutor, Nicolas Heitz, said he had referred to the police inspectorate (IGPN) the case of a 17-year-old woman who was injured on the margins of Saturday’s protests and has permanently lost her left eye. Serge Papin, the minister responsible for trade, will meet retailers, banks and insurers at 9am Monday Paris time, the Economy Ministry said.

Figures as of 10:09pm GMT Sunday.

Update, 7:10pm GMT Sunday: In a televised address on Sunday evening, Paris time, Mr Macron said “nothing justifies” what he called “unbridled” violence and that “tonight, we all feel anger and shame”, France 24 and Le Figaro reported. He said those who looted would have to pay back the damage and that “those who sought to bring down the Republic will be held accountable”. He blamed “insurrectionist elements from radical far-left groups, joined by numerous criminals”, according to France 24’s translation.

Mr Macron said he had asked Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez to “draw all the lessons”, particularly on intelligence and anticipation, and that there would be “full transparency” over the police response, France 24 and Le Figaro reported. He said protesters with “legitimate demands” must never be confused with “those who destroyed, smashed and looted”. According to Le Figaro, he said Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu would hold a crisis meeting on Monday to arrange aid for those affected and would meet political parties in the coming days; he called on all unions and political organisations to condemn the violence and call for calm.

The Interior Ministry’s consolidated count put Saturday’s arrests at 2,397 nationwide, with 997 police officers and gendarmes injured, seven of them seriously, RTL and Le Figaro reported. France 24 reported that police fired tear gas around Place de la République in Paris on Sunday as tensions flared again.

Figures as of 7:10pm GMT Sunday.

Late on Saturday, Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said 1,200 people were arrested nationwide and 150 police and gendarmes injured. On Sunday morning, the Paris police prefecture reported 855 arrests in the capital, “a record”, and said 13 police and gendarmes and two firefighters were hurt there. It said one person died after a cardiac arrest on the margins of the protests; the circumstances of the death were not given.

Update, 10:10am GMT: More than 1,800 people have been arrested across France and more than 500 police officers, gendarmes and firefighters injured, Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said in a post on X on Sunday morning, Paris time, as reported by The Guardian, franceinfo and Le Figaro. He said the injury count was “only provisional” and that investigations were under way to identify those responsible.

Post by Laurent Nuñez on X, 18 October 2026, 8:58am GMT (last edited 9:22am GMT)

In the post, Mr Nuñez blamed “thousands of far-left individuals” who he said attacked public buildings and police, and who were then joined by “criminals” who looted businesses in cities including Paris, Marseille, Lyon, Bordeaux and Limoges, according to The Guardian’s translation. “The Republic will not yield to those who seek to impose disorder and violence,” he wrote.

Mr Lecornu has called an interministerial crisis meeting at his Matignon office for 7pm Paris time on Sunday (5pm GMT Sunday), franceinfo and Le Figaro reported. National Assembly President Yaël Braun-Pivet is considering a parliamentary inquiry and will meet party group leaders on Tuesday, her office told franceinfo.

Figures as of 10:10am GMT Sunday.

The Interior Ministry put turnout at 550,000; organisers said 800,000. In Saint-Étienne, a 17-year-old lost a hand to a police grenade, AFP reported. The prefect of Haute-Vienne, Maurice Barate, said the fire at Limoges town hall had been contained.

The mayors of Paris, Lyon and Marseille asked to meet Lecornu early this week and called for a “precise and transparent” review of what happened.

Lecornu told La France Insoumise (LFI) to “choose its side”. LFI leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon called him a “lamentable politician” and said his supporters had nothing to do with looting. National Rally leader Marine Le Pen accused LFI of legitimising violence. Socialist leader Olivier Faure called for police to focus on de-escalation, and MP Alexis Corbière asked for a parliamentary inquiry.

The presidential election is due in six months.