1,500 shops hit as France's arrests pass 1,800
A retail trade body estimates about 1,500 shops were hit during unrest alongside largely peaceful marches over living costs and school conditions. Macron is due to address the country as scrutiny turns to the police response.
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French authorities have arrested 1,800 people after violence and looting alongside nationwide protests, the interior minister said on October 18, as retailers estimated losses of several hundred million euros.
Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said more than 500 police officers, gendarmes and firefighters had been injured during demonstrations on October 17 and into the night. Alexandre Bompard, president of the Retail and Trade Federation, estimated that about 1,500 shops and retailers had been directly affected.
The demonstrations brought together anger over rising living costs and high-school students' grievances about education conditions. The marches were largely peaceful, but violence and looting spread across several cities, leaving the government facing both a public-order crisis and questions about whether police had enough resources to protect businesses.
President Emmanuel Macron was scheduled to address the country at 20:00 on October 18. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu was due to hold an interministerial crisis meeting an hour earlier, covering the economy and retail, insurance and judicial follow-up, according to Europe 1, citing AFP.
"Demonstrating is a fundamental right," Nuñez said, translated from the French. He also said the Republic would not yield to those seeking to impose disorder and violence.
The Daily Inference reported on October 17 that protesters briefly entered Marseille's town hall and police fired tear gas in Paris, as demands broadened to wages, prices and public services.
