France unrest: PM calls for curfews as riots engulf cities, Macron blames far left and Trump targets migrants | RTP

French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu on Monday instructed regional authorities to impose limited and localised curfews in areas affected by the unrest, as the government scrambled to prevent further violence.

Speaking after an emergency meeting with senior officials, Lecornu said it was a miracle that nobody had been killed during Saturday's extensive violence.

More than 2,400 people were arrested, while hundreds of businesses were looted or vandalised as demonstrations over rising living costs, deteriorating public services and conditions in schools descended into some of France's worst urban violence in recent years.

Macron rejects interior minister's resignation

The crisis has exposed serious shortcomings in France's security response.

Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez offered his resignation after acknowledging that authorities had lost control in parts of several major cities despite deploying approximately 60,000 police officers and other security personnel.

President Emmanuel Macron rejected the offer, instead instructing Nuñez to investigate failures in intelligence gathering and security planning and introduce new policing tactics.

The mayors of Paris, Marseille and Lyon have also demanded answers from the government, accusing authorities of leaving large sections of their cities inadequately protected.

In a joint intervention, the mayors described the scale of the violence as unprecedented in their experience and called for urgent action to restore public confidence.

Luxury stores looted, historic buildings torched

Scenes of destruction unfolded across France as masked rioters attacked public buildings, set vehicles ablaze and ransacked commercial establishments.

In the central city of Limoges, the historic 19th-century City Hall was almost completely destroyed by fire, with its roof collapsing.

Paris witnessed extensive vandalism, with an estimated 300 to 400 businesses damaged during the weekend.

Luxury shopping districts were among the worst affected. Boutiques belonging to Dior, Rolex, Louis Vuitton, Gucci and Ralph Lauren suffered damage, while other high-end stores were also targeted by looters.

In Marseille, rioters ransacked the official store of football club Olympique de Marseille, while municipal buildings were also attacked.

The violence extended to Lyon, Bordeaux and several other cities, with police using tear gas and other crowd-control measures during confrontations.

Macron blames radical far left

Addressing the nation on Sunday before departing for a Gulf tour, Macron condemned the destruction and accused radical far-left activists and criminal groups of exploiting otherwise legitimate demonstrations.

The French president distinguished between peaceful protesters expressing economic grievances and those responsible for violence, promising accountability for attacks on businesses, public buildings and security personnel.

His remarks came amid mounting criticism of the government's handling of the crisis, with political opponents questioning why authorities failed to anticipate the scale of the disorder.

Trump blames immigration for French turmoil

The unrest has also triggered an international political debate, with U.S. President Donald Trump using social media to link the violence to immigration.

In two recent interventions, Trump portrayed the turmoil as evidence of France's migration problems, claimed migrants had taken over and urged French authorities to close the country's borders.

However, the demonstrations were organised primarily around rising living costs, deteriorating education conditions and concerns over public services.

French authorities have blamed much of the rioting on radical far-left activists and opportunistic looters. There is no established evidence that immigration was the cause of the nationwide protest movement.

Trump's remarks have nevertheless added an international dimension to the debate over immigration, public security and political instability in Europe.

Fresh protests planned as Macron faces mounting pressure

Despite the government's security measures, demonstrations continued on Monday, with protesters blocking access to the Louvre museum and staging gatherings at Sciences Po university in Paris.

French unions have called for another round of nationwide strikes and demonstrations on November 5, raising the prospect of further disruption.

The unrest comes approximately six months before France's presidential election and at a particularly difficult moment for Macron's government, which is grappling with mounting public debt, budget pressures and growing dissatisfaction over living costs.

Macron, meanwhile, has travelled to the Gulf seeking additional petrol and diesel supplies to ease pressure on domestic fuel prices.

With damaged businesses demanding assistance, local authorities seeking accountability and protesters planning further action, France's government faces two immediate challenges: restoring public order and addressing the economic grievances that sparked the demonstrations.

The coming weeks will test whether the government's security response can contain the violence without deepening public resentment or undermining the right to peaceful protest.