Over 1,200 detained as inflation protests turn violent across France, cars torched in Paris

About eight lakh citizens took to the streets across France on Saturday against rising inflation, high fuel prices and deteriorating public services. France, considered an important and advanced European country, is going through an unprecedented social and political crisis. More than 1,200 people have been detained across the country so far.

The protest turned violent in the capital, Paris. Just 400 metres from the Elysee Palace, the official residence of President Emmanuel Macron, protesters set cars on fire and threw stones at the police. The administration is struggling to bring the situation under control.

In the city of Limoges, some masked protesters set fire to the town hall. The building was 143 years old and had historic heritage value. It was completely gutted in the fire. The administration has strongly condemned the act. Looting has been reported in about ten major cities of the country.

The protest began with a small incident. On September 21, students of Lycee Saint-Exupery, a school in one of the poorest areas of Paris, went on strike. Their demands were an acute shortage of teachers, inadequate educational resources and the lack of repairs to old buildings. On September 29, the administration sent some additional staff and calmed the strike there, but by then discontent had spread to other schools.

Within just eight days, the agitation spread to 410 schools in France. University students then joined in. Parents, teachers' unions and the country's large labour unions also stood behind the students, and it quickly became the largest social movement in the country.

On October 5, a 15-year-old student suffered a serious hand injury in a clash with the police during a demonstration in Lens, in northern France. It is said to have been caused by the explosion of a police tear gas or crowd-control device (grenade). The news spread like wildfire and led to widespread anger against the police's harsh action. The agitation became more intense.

No school students' protest in France's history has seen so much violence before. In the clashes so far, more than 200 students, 85 school staff and more than 700 police personnel have been seriously injured. The administration had detained more than 6,000 protesters. Most of them were minors and were released later without serious charges.

Taking advantage of the agitation, gangs of unruly youths ran riot in many cities. Youths wearing masks over their faces and gloves on their hands vandalised and looted supermarkets, pharmacies, electronics and clothing shops and showrooms of big brands. These gangs worked in a planned manner. Before breaking into a shop, they would switch off or smash its CCTV cameras, then break the main glass and enter.

The influence of the famous Yellow Vest movement of 2018 is visible in all this. Calls had been made on social media to revive that movement. Under French law, every motorist must keep a bright yellow jacket in the vehicle for emergencies. When the fuel tax was raised in 2018, citizens made these same jackets the symbol of their protest. Now, with people again taking to the streets in yellow jackets against inflation, the government has been shaken.