France rocked by more riots as Macron vows tough security overhaul after mass arrests

• Clashes, looting erupt in Paris, Lyon as cops fire tear gas, stun grenades.
• Opposition criticises Macron’s response ahead of presidential poll.
• Trump blames immigration for unrest as Macron pledges aid to businesses.
  

French President Emmanuel Macron has condemned what he called “unbridled” violence as fresh clashes and looting erupted in Paris and other cities, a day after nearly 2,400 people were arrested and almost 1,000 police officers and gendarmes were injured in some of the country's worst urban unrest in years.

In an address to the nation on Sunday, Macron vowed to strengthen security and review the police response but stopped short of announcing drastic measures such as a state of emergency or curfew.

“Tonight, we all feel anger and shame,” Macron said, distinguishing between protesters with “legitimate demands” and those who “destroyed, smashed, and looted”.

“Those who have destroyed must pay,” he said, vowing the government would be “uncompromising” towards “agitators from ultra-left fringe groups, joined by numerous delinquents” who had “unleashed unbridled violence in our cities”.

AFP journalists reported that police fired tear gas and stun grenades at hundreds of people gathered in a Paris square on Sunday following social media calls for a gathering that authorities said had not been approved.

Protesters hurled bottles and rocks at police, who made several arrests. Shops were also looted around Place de la République, where specialist anti-riot police were deployed for a second consecutive day.

Violence also erupted in the southeastern city of Lyon, where police thwarted attempts by young people to smash the windows of a luxury clothing store.

'Lamentable' address

The unrest comes just months before a presidential election in which centrist Macron cannot stand for re-election, while Marine Le Pen, the far-right National Rally party's presidential candidate, is riding high in the polls.

Le Pen said the unrest showed that Macron's administration was “running on fumes, exhausted and disoriented”. Her top lieutenant, Jordan Bardella, described Macron's speech as a “lamentable” address that showed the authorities had “nothing more to say” to France.

Jean-Luc Mélenchon, leader of the hard-left France Unbowed party and also a presidential contender, urged Macron to respond to protesters' demands, saying young people “need this episode to reach a positive conclusion”.

Macron said “our country deserves a fine presidential election”, marked by debates “with the parties, rather than in the streets with violence”.

Saturday's protests brought together trade unions, the anti-Macron Yellow Vests movement that shook the early years of his presidency, and school students who had been protesting for weeks. They voiced anger over the cost of living and young people's prospects.

As images of French town halls burning and shops being looted made headlines around the world, US President Donald Trump weighed in, blaming immigration for the unrest.

“France is burning! The immigration of people from an entirely different world, people with hatred in their hearts, has shattered that once great country,” Trump said in a social media post.

'All necessary lessons'

Macron vowed that senior officials would “make decisions in coordination with mayors to protect our cities, public buildings, and businesses”.

“Seeing the streets of our cities ransacked in this way is unbearable,” he said, pledging support for businesses affected by the unrest.

He also promised “full transparency” over the security forces' response to the protests, following criticism that police preparations had been inadequate.

Some opposition politicians have already called for Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez to be dismissed.

Macron said he had asked Nuñez to “draw all necessary lessons”, particularly regarding intelligence gathering and anticipating unrest, adding that he expected “clear answers”.

“It's like we had a war,” 78-year-old Paris resident Mehmet Ozeden told AFP, as burnt-out street barricades from Saturday's protests remained visible.

In the city of Limoges, a fire destroyed the 19th-century town hall. Local prefect Maurice Barate told news channel LCI that the blaze had been deliberately set by “a wild horde”.

In Lyon, a tourist office in the city centre was set ablaze during the protests, amid multiple clashes and incidents of looting.

A 17-year-old boy had his right hand blown off by a crowd-control grenade in the southern city of Saint-Étienne. In Mulhouse, a 17-year-old girl lost an eye, according to prosecutors.