Around 1,800 people were arrested nationwide, and investigations are underway to identify those responsible for the violence, Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said on X on Sunday. President of the Retail and Trade Federation, Alexandre Bompard, said approximately 1,500 shops and retail businesses had been damaged, resulting in losses worth millions.
In Paris, police reported a record 855 arrests linked to the protests. Streets were left strewn with the charred remains of barricades built from bicycles, rubbish bins and other materials. Shop windows were smashed, and several vehicles were set on fire.
Other cities affected by the unrest included Marseille, Bordeaux, Nice and Strasbourg, where masked youths looted numerous shops during the demonstrations.
The protests, organized under the banner of “yellow and youth” demonstrations, were called by France’s Yellow Vest movement, which staged major protests eight years ago against President Emmanuel Macron’s government over planned fuel-tax increases. The latest demonstrations centered on the rising cost of living, with the U.S. war in West Asia contributing to inflationary pressures across Europe and beyond.
Maryam Abolbagha - seyed mohammad kazemi
