Pyrenex store looted amid protests in France
Demonstrations in France backing high school students turned violent in places. A Pyrenex-branded shop window was attacked with a stick; 1,800 people were arrested nationwide.
· 1 min read
Protesters in France have looted another store. In the footage, a person armed with a stick approaches the window of a shop bearing a Pyrenex sign.
Tension across the country
On Saturday, protesters supporting high school students clashed with police in France. Other groups angry about high prices and the fraying of the social welfare system joined the demonstrations. While hundreds of thousands marched peacefully in scores of cities, violent fringe groups targeted public buildings, luxury boutiques and supermarkets, and attacked police vehicles and officers. In some demonstrations buildings were set ablaze and shops looted. Police fired teargas in several places.
Prime minister Sébastien Lecornu said late on Saturday that 1,200 people had been arrested and 150 police officers hurt. Interior minister Laurent Nuñez announced on Sunday that the number of arrests had risen to 1,800. Nuñez said the state was not planning to declare a state of emergency.
In Limoges, the town hall was largely destroyed by a fire set by masked protesters. Regional prefect Maurice Barate said the roof had collapsed onto lower floors, that apart from the west wing two-thirds of the exterior had disappeared, and that the damage to the 143-year-old building was a catastrophe for heritage. In Marseille, protesters briefly entered the town hall before police removed them. In Paris, a peaceful march around Place de la République turned violent, and police fired teargas at black-clad, masked rioters who threw fireworks and paving stones, attacked a bank and looted a sports shop.
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