You media all focus on the violence and destruction of Saturday's protests. But that's not the majority. That's not France!" Elisabeth was speaking to me in front of a row of smashed shop windows, shattered glass still littering the tree-lined Parisian street.
Its walls were daubed with red-lettered graffiti insulting French police and signed with the date of the riots, 17 October. I'd stopped her and her friend to ask what they thought of what happened on Saturday. Elisabeth was so upset that, when she spoke, she seemed close to tears.
"My friend thinks this is civil war in France but I don't. Saturday is about something else entirely." But what did happen exactly? Who was behind the riots?
While much of the looting seemed opportunistic, the violence looked pre-planned. Why orchestrate it now, after weeks of student protests? And who most stands to gain from the destruction this weekend?
Elisabeth wasn't entirely sure. Different theories are doing the rounds - in and outside France. Black and white answers may be appealing, but the truth is there are many factors at play.
The president of the National Assembly, Yaël Braun-Pivet, has proposed a parliamentary inquiry into the riots and how they were organised. French intelligence had briefed government circles earlier this month that left-wing anarchist groups were involved in the student protests. Their signature: a capital A, circled in black, was spray-painted on many buildings across France this weekend.
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