Rioters Burn Historic Limoges Town Hall as French Cost-of-Living Protests Enter a Fourth Week
About 400 people were arrested Saturday as more than half a million marched in over 100 demonstrations, and Macron promised prosecutions.
A 143-year-old landmark in central France burned Saturday as anti-government protests over the cost of living stretched into a fourth week.
Limoges Town Hall, built in 1883 and designated a historic landmark in 1975, was "largely lost" after rioters set it on fire, according to Fox News. Local prefect Maurice Barate told AFP that "the roof has collapsed onto lower floors, except the west wing, and two-thirds of the exterior has already disappeared." He called it "a deliberate act by hooligans" and "a catastrophe for heritage."
France's interior minister, Laurent Nuñez, said about 400 people were arrested Saturday as more than half a million people joined over 100 marches nationwide. Most were peaceful, Fox notes, but many turned into riots. Masked groups tried to break into town halls in Lille and Calais and a police station in Brest, and there was violence in Rennes, Toulouse, Montpellier and Grenoble. In Paris, police used tear gas and water cannons on hooded, masked groups throwing fireworks and other objects at officers in the Place de la République. Nuñez blamed "extremely violent, radical far-left groups."
Outgoing President Emmanuel Macron wrote on social media that "there is no place for violence in our republic." He promised that those who attacked prefectures and businesses and looted town halls "will be prosecuted and punished," and he voiced support for law enforcement. He said the country would stand against "the sowers of chaos" who want to bring down institutions and block those who protest peacefully. Macron leaves office in six months.
The unrest has become a talking point in America. Vice President JD Vance posted footage of a burning building on X and called France a cautionary tale, writing that Western liberals "ignored fundamental questions of assimilation and compatibility." Fox's coverage frames the rioting as far-left. The report does not detail the protesters' specific demands beyond opposition to the cost of living.