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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
National
Sylvie Corbet and Tom Nouvian

How France’s worst rioting in years erupted and how the government responded

APTOPIX France Protests - (Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

Rioters clashed with police, set cars on fire, stormed public buildings and engulfed a historic city hall in flames in France’s worst civil unrest in years as violence and looting swept through major cities during nationwide protests.

About 2,400 people were arrested over the weekend, and authorities said thousands of businesses were damaged or looted. The rioting overshadowed demonstrations against rising living costs and poor conditions in schools in which hundreds of thousands of people marched peacefully.

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