Town Halls Burned And Hundreds Of Shops Looted
French President Emmanuel Macron delivered a stern televised address to the nation on Sunday night after nationwide cost-of-living demonstrations descended into destructive riots. Over the weekend, violent groups set fire to local town halls, smashed public buildings, and looted hundreds of retail businesses across major French cities. Declaring that citizens felt both anger and shame watching the ransacked streets, Macron insisted that nothing justifies such unbridled violence. The French leader drew a sharp line between peaceful citizens marching over legitimate economic grievances and rioters who came to destroy and steal. "Those who have destroyed must pay," Macron vowed, promising an uncompromising judicial response and financial support for business owners whose shops suffered damage.
Targeted Rally Bans Without A State Of Emergency
While Macron stopped short of declaring a nationwide state of emergency or imposing blanket curfews, he confirmed that local prefects and mayors will have authority to ban high-risk rallies in the coming days. Facing public criticism that police forces were caught off guard by the scale of the weekend rioting, Macron pledged full transparency regarding the security response. He instructed Interior Minister Laurent Nunez to review intelligence-gathering and crowd-anticipation failures immediately, stating he expects clear answers on how the unrest escalated so rapidly.
Trump Blames Immigration For French Unrest
As images of burning French storefronts circulated internationally, US President Donald Trump weighed in from Washington on Sunday. In a message amplified by the official White House account on X, Trump claimed that "France is burning" and blamed the unrest on immigration rather than inflation and fuel costs. Trump asserted that immigrants had shattered the country and urged Paris to close its borders immediately. French officials, however, remained focused on restoring domestic order and coordinating between national police and municipal mayors to protect city centers ahead of further planned demonstrations this week. Follow breaking political developments and economic news from across Europe and the world. Read our international coverage today at The WAU.
Share This Post
