French Officials Explore Curfews After Weekend of Chaos and Protests Spreading Across Europe

French officials are exploring introducing curfews as the country reels from its worst rioting in years after protests over education and the cost of living spiraled into a wave of deadly, country-wide violence that has sparked a blame game at home and threatens to spill over into its European neighbors.

Over the weekend, police fired tear gas into crowds and fought running battles with black-clad, hooded rioters who set fires and broke into shops and government buildings, with images showing historic buildings ablaze.

The mood in the country remained tense on Monday, with Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu asking some cities to impose “partial curfews” to protect people, property and businesses. In Marseille, officials banned all gatherings and demonstrations from midday until 8 p.m. local time in anticipation of any more flare-ups, while protestors blocked access to the Louvre Museum in Paris, forcing it to close.

Those measures were introduced after more than 2,000 people were arrested this past weekend, with at least two deaths and reports of serious injuries, including two people who lost their hands. {snip}

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Over half a million people demonstrated across France on Saturday. For the most part, things were peaceful; far-left leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon described the crowd in Paris as “moving calmly.”

But in several locations the protests spilled into violence, especially as night fell. In Paris, groups of masked young people looted shops and started fires; in Lyon, protesters torched the city’s tourist office; in the central city of Limoges, the spire of a 143-year-old town hall collapsed in flames, reviving painful memories for some of the Notre Dame Cathedral fire. Hundreds of businesses were vandalized across the Île-de-France region, which includes Paris, a local business representative told BFMTV.

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By the end of the weekend, Paris looked like a “war zone,” one visitor to the city told Reuters. {snip}

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In his Sunday address, Macron acknowledged protesters’ grievances and said he would take “a number of international initiatives” to tackle fuel prices and ensure a stable supply from Gulf nations. {snip}

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