France awoke to scenes of widespread damage on Sunday after a day of riots and demonstrations, with shopfronts shattered, burnt out cars, charred bikes, and piles of glass and debris on the pavements of Paris. Police arrested about 1,800 people on Saturday as some 550,000 demonstrators took to the streets for protests that were largely peaceful. They were demonstrating against rising fuel prices, the cost of living and deteriorating public services, including schools.
Groups of rioters, some dressed in black and wearing masks and balaclavas, also came out in Paris, Marseille and other towns and cities, with some setting fire to cars and buildings. Widespread looting took place across the cities of Paris, Marseille and Lille, as well as other areas. In Paris, protesters clashed with riot police, who turned tear gas and water cannon on the crowds.
During the day, some groups lit fires in the street and torched vehicles. At least one restaurant was gutted by fire, and the BBC saw fighting breaking out among some of the groups. Riot police were seen charging at one crowd in central Paris and hitting several people with batons.
Further south in Marseille, protesters broke into the city hall by using a metal fence as a battering ram. In Lille a McDonalds was set on fire, police said, and an Apple store in the city was broken into and looted. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said 150 police officers were injured in the unrest.
On Sunday morning in Paris, residents surveyed the damage, which included the smashed glass frontages of designer stores including Ralph Lauren, Gucci and Versace. Shopkeepers were out early with brooms, picking up large shards of glass as they began the clean-up. Rubbish trucks worked their way down some of the larger streets to clear some of the debris.
Many shops were daubed with graffiti, some reading "tax the rich" and "eat the rich." The BBC visited a clothes shop close to the Place de la République which had been ransacked, with piles of clothes and furniture scattered across the shop floor. The shop's distraught owner told the BBC he saw looters on the CCTV who were in the shop for just over an hour and a half, and that during that time he saw no police in the process. The owner - who asked not to be identified - told the BBC he did not believe any of those who robbed the shop were genuine protesters against school conditions or the cost of living.
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