Some 1,800 people had been arrested by midday on Sunday, with hundreds of police officers injured
Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte have been likened to Marie Antionette after the pair attended a Celine Dion concert on Friday night as riots erupted across France.
The President, who will address the French public this evening at 19:00 BST (20:00 CET), was seen enjoying the pop gig from a private box, apparently oblivious to the chaos unfolding across France as fury with his government boiled over.
More than half a million people took to the streets yesterday, with French authorities already arresting 1,800 rioters.
One furious demonstrator likened Macron, 48, and Brigitte, 78 to Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI, the French king and his wife who were executed in the 1789 revolution.
Lina Bernard, an organiser of a protest rally in Paris, told the Mail on Sunday the couple “were acting like Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette” – both of whom were executed in the 1789 revolution with brought down the French monarchy.
She added: “They appear to think that there is no problem with anything.”
A tourism office in Lyon was set on fire while a town hall in Marseilles was sacked amid the most violent protests of the year so far, almost a month after student riots erupted in Paris on September 17.
Some 1,800 people had been arrested by Sunday midday, with hundreds of police officers injured.
In Paris, there were 855 arrests, according to an updated tally this morning.
It comes after 550,000 people, including Yellow Vest activists, joined student demonstrators in Paris, Marseille, Rennes and Toulouse, according to the interior ministry.
Read more: Two injured, including headteacher, after pupil opens fire at secondary school in France
At least 500,000 people were understood to have taken to the streets as police fired tear gas and clashed with protesters.
LBC’s France correspondent Peter Allen said there was “lots of anger” after Macron attended the pop concert on Friday night as the riots started.
He described scenes across the country as “non-stop disorder” with “thousands of youngsters smashing into shops, setting fire to things, attacking the police. Absolutely non-stop.”
“It was only about 2 hours ago that it was finally quelled,” he told Matthew Wright on Sunday morning.
“This was replicated across the country. Incredible scenes down in Marseille of the police coming under attack. Limoges, this beautiful old town hall which doesn’t exist anymore, was burnt to the ground. Lyon, the main tourist office was burnt to the ground.
“It really is an incredible situation, and many said that the police lost control for large parts of the night as well, which is a huge concern.”
It comes as Emmanuel Macron said there was “no place” for violence in France, vowing that those responsible for looting and damage would be “prosecuted and punished”.
The French president accused “sowers of chaos” of stopping peaceful protesters from making their voices heard.
However, the main protest in Paris was said to have been carried out peacefully, according to local reporters.
Amina Kalache, who joined demonstrators on the streets, said there had been “not only violence” but also peaceful protest over social inequality and the school system.
She added she was “surprised” by what she viewed as a heavy-handed police response.
Aucune place pour la violence dans notre République.
Ceux qui ont cassé, attaqué les préfectures comme les commerces, pillé jusqu’à nos mairies, seront poursuivis et punis.
Aux forces de l’ordre, garantes du droit à manifester, je dis le soutien de la Nation.
Nous ferons tous…
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) October 17, 2026
Protesters attack a tourism office in Lyon during a demonstration against rising living costs, joining students’ grievances, in Lyon, France, Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Laurent Cipriani).
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Associated Press/Alamy
Protesters stand next to a burning car amid clashes during a demonstration at the Place de la Republique in Paris.
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Reuters
The student protests started last month at high schools in Paris’ poor northern suburbs, where anger over teacher shortages and shabby facilities evolved into a broader movement focused on inequality, public spending and living standards.
A large police presence was visible in central Paris, especially near landmarks such as the Champs-Elysees and the Arc de Triomphe, which were excluded from the routes of two authorised demonstrations.
Protesters in high-visibility vests blocked streets, recalling the Yellow Vest movement that marked President Emmanuel Macron’s previous term in office.
In Marseille, the mayor said the town hall had been vandalised and that additional police were being sent to the city following talks with the prime minister and interior minister.
French riot police run amid clashes with protesters in Paris.
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REUTERS
Other cost of living protests took place on Saturday across the continent in Belgium, Italy and Portugal.
While uncoordinated with the French ones, demonstrators in these nations have similar concerns around economic instability.
Students clashed with police in Brussels on Saturday during their protest about university registration fees. Police fired tear gas and water cannons at the protesters, whom they accused of setting fires in the city and launching missiles at the police .
Masked protesters in Milan joined into a previously peaceful demonstration and began looting luxury shops and setting fire to property. Police have said at least 50 people were detained, many of them minors.
Police clash with youth demonstrators in central Milan as cost-of-living protest escalates.
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Anadolu/Getty
Riot police in Paris.
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Reuters
Protesters gather in Paris.
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Reuters
About 100 people walked towards the start of the protests shouting “All cops are bastards”, according to a Reuters witness.
Police tactics during the protests have drawn criticism following a series of injuries among demonstrators, including a teenager who lost a hand after picking up a stun grenade.
A masked protester throws an object onto a burning car in Paris.
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Reuteres
French riot police have fired tear gas at protesters.
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Reuters
Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu said more than 900 police officers had also been injured in previous protests.
The police watchdog is investigating at least two dozen allegations of police violence.
France suspended the use of stun grenades during the student demonstrations, but Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said they could be used on Saturday.