Macron Vows Accountability After 1,800 Arrests in France Protests

3 articles · Updated · Boston.com · Oct 18

At least 1,800 people were arrested after nationwide protests over living costs and school conditions turned violent, prompting Emmanuel Macron to promise looters would repay damage and those targeting the Republic would be held accountable.
Macron blamed “insurrectionist elements” from radical far-left groups and criminals as hundreds of businesses were looted and public buildings attacked in Paris, Marseille, Lyon, Bordeaux and Limoges.
855 arrests were made in the Paris region alone, where police used tear gas around Place de la République; one person died of a heart attack and prosecutors opened investigations into severe protest injuries in Mulhouse and Saint-Etienne.
About 550,000 people joined the protests by official count, or 800,000 by organizers, reviving comparisons with the 2018 yellow vest movement as political rivals and city mayors pressed Macron’s government over the damage.