France is braced for an 'Act II' of chaos after demonstrations descended into pillaging, looting and attacks on the police at the weekend.
asserted
demonstrations → brace → weekend
Emmanuel Macron, who is currently on a three-day trip in the Gulf, has been branded 'pathetic' by his opponents as he loses control of his country despite overnight curfews bringing temporary reprieve.
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curfews → brand → reprieve
A website that serves as a platform for the demonstrations announced a second round of action for Saturday, as it hailed what it called a 'legitimate revolt' against the French government and multinational corporations.
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it → serve → government
The announcement prompted ministers to commit to tighter security operations after admitting that there had been a breakdown in law and order, as well as what Macron called 'unprecedented violence'.
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Macron → prompt → what
Intelligence suggested there would be 200,000 demonstrators on Saturday when in fact there were more than 500,000, as at least 3,000 shops were ransacked and almost 1,000 police officers were injured.
uncertain
officers → suggest → fact
Ultra-Left activists were joined by youths motivated to loot businesses, according to ministers, morphing into one of France’s most violent days of unrest in recent years with at least 2,400 people arrested.
uncertain
people → join → years
City halls were invaded and vandalised while the 19th-century neo-Renaissance town hall in Limoges was ravaged by flames, causing local residents to recoil in horror as its roof collapsed.
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roof → invade → horror
Laurent Nuñez, hampered by criticism on the Left and Right, offered to resign as interior minister but was told to remain in his job by Macron.
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Nuñez → hamper → Macron
A man throws a plastic traffic cone through a burning barricade amid clashes during a day of demonstrations against the cost of living and rising fuel prices in Paris, on October 17
A fire burns as police officers in riot gear stand guard during civil unrest, the day after a national day of demonstrations against the cost of living and rising fuel prices, in Paris, on October 18
Speaking on France Inter, a state radio station, Nuñez admitted that the police had lost control in the face of rioters, as mayors in Paris, Lyon and Marseille complained that 'entire sections' of their cities were left unprotected.
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sections → throw → cities
'There was an asymmetry between deployment and the number of... demonstrators but also hoodlums, looters and ultra-Left activists who made protest marches degenerate,' Nuñez said.
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Nuñez → be → demonstrators
He continued: 'On Saturday, in some major cities, you couldn't look shopkeepers in the eye after hundreds of shops had been looted and tell them we hadn't lost control.'
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we → continue → control
The minister deployed 10,000 officers at the weekend and confirmed numbers would be increased for the next protests.
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numbers → deploy → protests
The Élysée said Macron refused Nuñez's resignation because he was resistant to changing ministers in the middle of what was proving to be one of the most significant crises of his presidency.
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what → say → presidency
Amid the upheaval, Macron has demanded a new public order doctrine to abate the violence.
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Macron → demand → violence
In an address to the nation on Sunday, the president promised action against looters but pledged to listen to the 'legitimate' concerns of peaceful protesters.
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president → promise → protesters
His speech was dismissed as 'pathetic' by Jordan Bardella, the chairman of the hard-Right National Rally.
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speech → dismiss → Rally
In the middle of the crisis, Macron flew off to the Gulf for a three-day tour of Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Qatar, hoping to 'secure' France's energy supplies.
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Macron → fly → supplies
Despite his aim of reducing petrol prices, commentators said the trip made him appear out of touch.
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him → reduce → touch
Macron said the tour was necessary because the protest movement 'has its source in the conflict in the Gulf, in which France is not taking part, and from which we are subjected to the consequences'.
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we → say → consequences
The chaos follows weeks of demonstrations by sixth-formers and university students over what they say are overcrowded classrooms, teacher shortages and dilapidated school buildings.
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they → follow → formers
At the weekend, a second movement joined forces with the Gen Z demonstrators, this one initiated by calls to reinvigorate the 'yellow vest' protests that emerged over fuel duties and broader economic grievances in 2018.
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that → join → 2018
The website 17octobregiletjaune.net, which was responsible for advertising marches across the country, is now advertising similar actions on October 24.
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which → advertise → October
The organisers state that the movement is the successor to the 'great tipping moments of history' such as the French Revolution, the suffragettes and the resistance to the Nazi occupation of France during World War Two.
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movement → state → War
Opponents argue the yellow vests are a front for the radical Left France Unbowed party, who they accuse of using violence to subvert democracy.
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they → argue → democracy
Sébastien Lecornu, the Prime Minister of France, said the party aimed to 'orchestrate deep unrest across the country' in the hopes of undermining next year's presidential election.
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party → say → election
But Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the movement's presidential candidate, denied the claims, instead accusing the government of fanning the flames of disorder via police brutality and a failure to meet the protesters' demands.
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Mélenchon → deny → demands
Paris police issued an overnight curfew on Monday in two areas of the French capital, to protect 'people and property from the violence and looting'.
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police → issue → violence
The curfew prohibited anyone from entering or remaining on the Place de la République, where rioting took place Saturday, and the shopping neighbourhood of Les Halles, which has been subject to looting.
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which → prohibit → looting
In addition, gatherings and demonstrations were banned from 8pm.
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gatherings → ban → pm
Earlier Monday, Lecornu had called for 'very limited' and 'localised' curfews.
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Lecornu → call → curfews
In northern France, local authorities imposed a curfew for children and teenagers under age 18 in several cities, including Lille, starting from Monday and for the next two days from 8pm to 6am.
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authorities → impose → am
Nice, on the French Riviera, also imposed an overnight curfew for minors from 9pm.
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Nice → impose → pm
Lecornu defended police handling of the unrest, saying that 'despite scenes of severe violence and extensive property damage, no one was killed, and that is a miracle'.
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that → defend → violence
A woman rides a bicycle past a burning barricade near the Tuileries Garden with the Eiffel tower in the background, amid clashes during a day of demonstrations, October 17
A protester throws a bicycle onto a burning car, October 17
Masked protesters stand next to burning bicycles, October 17
A fire burning and destroying the city hall in Limoges, central France on October 17, after a group of individuals forced entry into the building
Mass protests in France are often tainted by violence on the fringes of otherwise peaceful marches, leading to clashes with police.
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protests → rid → police
Saturday's unrest recalled the riots that followed the fatal police shooting of a teenager in 2023, when authorities imposed local curfews, and violence during the yellow vest movement that began in 2018.
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that → recall → 2018
The prime minister's instructions come after Nuñez offered his resignation Sunday, but Macron refused it 'given the need for continued command of law enforcement in the current context'.
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Macron → come → context
He instructed Nuñez 'to take all necessary steps to ensure full transparency about the failures in planning and intelligence-gathering that led to the violence,' a statement from his office said.
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statement → instruct → office
Macron also asked for the introduction of 'new policing tactics on the ground as quickly as possible' to put an end to the violence.
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Macron → ask → violence
On Sunday evening, groups set fire to rubbish bins, bicycles and other objects in the streets and looted businesses in Paris, Lyon, Marseille and other cities.
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groups → set → Paris
That followed the violence during nationwide protests on Saturday against rising living costs and poor conditions in schools.
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That → follow → schools
…and 48 more, not listed.
The Aporia
