Global News Edmonton has reported:

French President Emmanuel Macron condemned rioting and looting during nationwide protests against rising living costs and poor conditions in schools, saying those responsible would face consequences. Authorities said at least 2,400 people were arrested. In a televised address Sunday, Macron said he shared the public’s “anger” and “shame” over the violence.

“Those who looted will have to pay for the damage, and those who sought to bring down the Republic will be held accountable,” Macron said. He denounced “unrestrained violence” by “insurrectionist elements from radical far-left groups, joined by numerous criminals,” echoing other government officials who blamed much of the disorder on far-left activists accused of attacking police and public buildings to foment chaos.

Macron had held an emergency meeting with senior government officials earlier Sunday, a day after masked groups set fires and attacked city halls in several cities. He said he had instructed prefects to work with mayors to protect public buildings and businesses in the coming weeks, including by banning protests when necessary.

The protests drew calls from a labour union, student organizations and activists seeking to revive the “yellow vest” movement, which began in 2018 to protest social injustice. Authorities estimated that about 550,000 people took part in Saturday’s marches, while organizers put attendance at 800,000. Mass protests in France are often peaceful overall but marred by violence on the fringes, including clashes with police.

The nationwide arrest tally reported Sunday approached the nearly 2,000 people arrested across France during a single day of yellow vest protests in December 2018. Paris police said one person died of a heart attack, without giving further details. The Paris prosecutor’s office said it was investigating the death.

In Paris, hundreds of protesters gathered again Sunday at Place de la République under a heavy police presence. Officers used tear gas as tensions flared sporadically in the neighbourhood, where small groups tried to set bicycles and trash bins on fire. Dislodged cobblestones, shattered storefronts and broken glass covered areas around the square, while looting and damage were also reported in other tourist and shopping districts.

Paris police said 855 people were arrested in the capital region, and prosecutors said 557 remained in police custody. Parisians who went to inspect the damage photographed the partly dismantled base of the square’s central monument, a statue of Marianne, a symbol of France.

“I am actually stunned by the level of destruction and violence that was expressed,” said government employee Marie Peyreigne, 57, as she wondered what had led to the mayhem. Jean Foissy, 74, said he had intended to join the protest but found “a wall of riot police and fires everywhere” and went home. “I was very scared,” he said. “I’ve been a Parisian since I was born, so when I got here, it almost made me want to cry because I find it so bad, it hurts me.”

Margaux Eude, 26, said she supported the protest movement but “didn’t think it would escalate like this.” “It’s the troublemakers who came, and it breaks my heart because it delegitimizes the movement,” she said. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez wrote on X that “The right to protest is a fundamental right. Deliberately and collectively sowing disorder through violence is not,” citing the looting of hundreds of businesses across the country.

Flames engulfed the 19th-century City Hall in Limoges, in central France, causing its roof to collapse and nearly destroying the building. Haute-Vienne prefect Maurice Barate said “radical troublemakers” broke in while elected officials, employees, security personnel and members of the public were inside. “They deliberately set the building on fire. It is an extremely serious and unspeakable act,” he said.

In Marseille, some protesters briefly forced their way into the City Hall lobby, while a group wearing hoods and masks damaged a police station. In Lyon, a fire broke out inside a tourist office. In eastern France, the Mulhouse prosecutor’s office said an investigation had been opened after a 17-year-old girl was injured during protests and lost an eye. A separate investigation began Saturday after a young protester lost a hand in Saint-Etienne. The injuries have come as police face sharp scrutiny over their use of grenades and other riot-control weapons during recent demonstrations.

Political leaders exchanged accusations over Saturday’s violence ahead of next spring’s presidential election. Far-right leader and presidential hopeful Marine Le Pen criticized Macron’s centrist government as “exhausted, disoriented and seemingly incapable of doing anything other than commenting on its own powerlessness,” in a video posted on social media.

Far-left contender Jean-Luc Mélenchon accused Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu of “playing with fire,” alleging that “by banking on degradation, you have only succeeded in uniting all youths and workers’ unions.” Mélenchon, who joined Saturday’s Paris march, said: “my message is clear: those who share our fight have no business in looting or destruction.”

U.S. President Donald Trump posted “France is burning!” on Truth Social, apparently linking the unrest to “the immigration of people from an entirely different world.” “Close your Borders and take control, before it is too late!” he wrote. French authorities and police have not linked immigrants to the rioting.

Macron asked of the troublemakers: “How can French people do this to France?” Paris Mayor Emmanuel Grégoire wrote in an open letter that “The scale of the damage is considerable and unprecedented.” He added: “Paris is a city of freedoms, debate and demonstrations. It must remain so. But it must also be a city where everyone can work and run a business safely.”

The mayors of Paris, Marseille and Lyon, France’s three largest cities, requested a meeting with the prime minister in the coming days “given the extent of the damage and the seriousness of the situation.”