France imposes partial curfews after cost-of-living protests turn violent; Louvre blocked

Paris: France announced partial curfews in four northern cities on Monday after demonstrations over the rising cost of living escalated into some of the country's worst street violence in recent years. Protesters also blocked the entrance to the Louvre museum in Paris, disrupting visitors as authorities struggled to contain the unrest.

Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu said he was determined to restore public order and did not rule out declaring a state of emergency. The unrest comes six months before France elects a successor to President Emmanuel Macron.

Lecornu's office said curfews would be enforced from 8 pm to 6 am local time on Monday and Tuesday in four northern cities, including Lille, to protect businesses. Protest organisers have called for another round of demonstrations next Saturday.

"I'm absolutely determined to restore public order," Lecornu said.

The protests began four weeks ago, with students demanding better conditions at high schools, before expanding into a nationwide movement against rising living costs. Around half a million people took part in demonstrations across France on Saturday.

While many protests began peacefully, masked groups attacked police, broke into town halls and other public buildings, set some buildings on fire, looted shops and torched cars, bicycles and scooters.

More than 2,500 arrested as minister offers resignation

More than 2,500 people were arrested and nearly 1,000 security personnel were injured during the unrest. Protesters were also injured, with one demonstrator losing a hand after a police crowd-control grenade exploded.

Interior Minister Laurent Nunez offered his resignation on Monday following the weekend's violence, but Macron refused to accept it.

The president acknowledged shortcomings in the government's response despite the deployment of around 60,000 law enforcement personnel on Saturday.

Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin said more than 2,330 people had been taken into police custody nationwide over the weekend, around 70% of them adults.

According to small businesses minister Serge Papin, at least 3,000 shops were affected, with the damage estimated to run into hundreds of millions of euros.

In a televised address on Sunday, Macron condemned what he described as "unbridled" violence.

France targets online listings for looted goods

France's digital minister, Anne Le Henanff, on Monday urged online resale platforms to remove listings for stolen goods following the looting. She also summoned representatives of companies, including Vinted and eBay.

The commerce ministry said representatives from Amazon, Leboncoin, Meta and TikTok had also been invited.

Meanwhile, authorities in Marseille, the southern port city, banned public gatherings from noon to 8 pm local time on Monday.

The European Union condemned the violence as "unacceptable" but stressed that the right to peaceful protest must be protected.

Germany also denounced the violence and updated its travel advice for France, warning that further demonstrations and fresh outbreaks of violence could occur in the coming days. China, too, advised its citizens travelling to France to remain alert and take safety precautions, state broadcaster CCTV reported.

Louvre entrance blocked by protesters

In Paris, around a dozen demonstrators blocked the entrance to the Louvre, the world's most visited museum, on Monday, leaving tourists looking on as the attraction was closed.

The protesters gathered near the museum's famous glass pyramid entrance, where barricades had been erected.

"We don't want to get involved. We want to stand back and get away from them," Australian tourist Pat Boland, 73, told AFP outside the museum.

Rising prices fuel public anger

The protests have been fuelled by a sharp rise in living costs. Diesel prices in France have increased by nearly 40% and petrol prices by 25% since March, while food prices have risen by 25% over the past five years.

The unrest comes ahead of presidential elections scheduled for April and May, which will mark the end of Macron's decade in power. Far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen is performing strongly in opinion polls.

The government has accused far-left groups of fuelling the violence to improve the electoral prospects of Jean-Luc Melenchon, a prominent left-wing political leader.

Cost-of-living protests spread across Europe

France is not the only European country experiencing demonstrations over rising prices.

Clashes broke out on the sidelines of a cost-of-living demonstration in Milan over the weekend. The city's mayor, Giuseppe Sala, said he was deeply concerned about the emergence of what he described as a new phenomenon influenced by international developments.

In Belgium, police used tear gas and water cannon to disperse protesters in Brussels and Liege.

Meanwhile, demonstrators in Spain have set up tents in central Madrid to protest soaring housing costs. Similar encampments have emerged in Lisbon and Porto, Portugal's largest cities.

AP