France lived through one of its most violent days in years on Saturday (17), as protests over the rising cost of living and the decline of public services left one demonstrator dead, about 1,800 people arrested and more than 500 police officers, soldiers and firefighters injured, according to Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez. Paris alone saw a record 855 arrests, according to Folha de S.Paulo and RFI.
Marches drew crowds in dozens of cities: the Interior Ministry counted about 550,000 participants, while organizers put the figure at 800,000, RFI reports. The mobilization marked the convergence of a student movement that began about a month ago with broader social discontent, drawing unions and veterans of the yellow vest protests that shook France in 2018 and 2019. In Paris, violent groups erected barricades, set vehicles on fire and looted shops, including luxury stores, with clashes reaching the vicinity of the Elysee Palace, the presidential residence. In Limoges, the city hall, a historic 19th-century building, was set ablaze and lost its roof and clock tower. In Marseille, hooded groups stormed the city hall and toppled a statue of Marianne, the symbol of the French Republic. Lyon saw its tourism office burned and about a hundred officers injured, and in Bordeaux the mayor's official residence was vandalized.
What it means for Brazil
The crisis is directly relevant in Brasilia. France is Brazil's main strategic partner in Europe, with military cooperation that includes the nuclear-powered submarine development program (Prosub), run with the French Naval Group. At the same time, Paris leads the internal resistance to ratifying the trade agreement between the European Union and Mercosur, the South American bloc, under pressure from French farmers. A French government under pressure in the streets tends to have less room to maneuver in Brussels, which could affect the timetable of a deal closely watched by the Brazilian government.
The death of the demonstrator in Paris, who suffered cardiac arrest, is under investigation by the prosecutor's office, and the circumstances remain unclear. In Saint-Etienne, a 17-year-old had part of a hand amputated after the explosion of a grenade attributed to the police, a case that also prompted an investigation. The General Inspectorate of the National Police (IGPN), the body that oversees officers' conduct, opened another inquiry after a protester with a head injury filed a complaint in the capital. On the economic front, the Federation of Commerce and Distribution estimates that about 1,500 merchants were affected, with preliminary losses of hundreds of millions of euros.
On the political front, President Emmanuel Macron will address the nation at 8 p.m. this Sunday (18). Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu promised state aid to rebuild Limoges. Green party leader Marine Tondelier demanded the interior minister's resignation, and the speaker of the National Assembly, Yael Braun-Pivet, announced a parliamentary commission of inquiry, the French equivalent of a congressional investigative committee, to review the police strategy. The mayors of Paris, Lyon and Marseille demanded explanations from the government.
Across the Atlantic, US President Donald Trump blamed the violence on immigration and urged France to close its borders. "France is in flames! Immigration of people from a completely different world, people with hatred in their hearts, has destroyed that once-great country," he wrote on his social network, Truth Social, in remarks quoted in Portuguese by Folha. The protest wave evokes the yellow vest movement, which also grew out of anger over the cost of living and became the biggest street challenge of Macron's first term.