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French police arrested at least 1,800 people nationwide after cost-of-living protests turned violent on Saturday, October 17, according to AP reporting carried by CBS News. Paris police said 855 of the arrests were in the Paris region, and prosecutors said 557 of those people were in custody.
Authorities put turnout at about 550,000 people, while organizers said 800,000. Protesters cited rising living costs and poor conditions in schools. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said more than 500 police officers, gendarmes and firefighters were injured. Paris police said one person died of a heart attack, and prosecutors are investigating.
The damage reached public buildings in several cities. In Limoges, a fire destroyed much of the 19th-century city hall, and the roof collapsed. The local prefect said the fire was deliberately set. Al Jazeera reported that the city halls in Marseille and Lille were broken into and vandalized, and that protesters burned the tourist office in Lyon.
Looting hit dozens of shops in nine cities, including Paris, Marseille and Lyon. CBS reported that hundreds of businesses were looted nationwide. Paris Mayor Emmanuel Grégoire said whole streets in the capital had been devastated, and damage was reported around Place de la République.
The first official count was lower. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said on Saturday that 1,200 people had been arrested and 150 officers hurt. President Emmanuel Macron said those who looted would have to pay for the damage. He blamed "insurrectionist elements from radical far-left groups."
The unrest was not limited to France. Cost-of-living protests also took place on Saturday in Belgium, Italy and Portugal. Police in Brussels used tear gas and water cannon after protesters threw missiles and set fires. The Belgian demonstrations followed weeks of student protests over university registration fees.
In Milan, rioters clashed with police, looted stores and set fires in the city centre. About 50 demonstrators, many of them minors, were detained, and at least two officers were injured. In Lisbon, tens of thousands marched over low wages and housing costs. Al Jazeera said house prices there have more than doubled since 2017.
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