France woke up to a shattered landscape on Sunday. Masked protesters torched parked cars, ransacked shops, and set fire to a 140-year-old town hall in Limoges. The building, a survivor of two world wars, collapsed in flames.
US President Donald Trump watched the chaos unfold from across the Atlantic and took to social media to mock the situation. “Let's go to France? It's a lovely place. No riots, no revolutions,” Trump joked. He claimed the country was “so damn good for revolutions.”
The violence erupted on Saturday during nationwide marches against soaring inflation. Clashes broke out in Paris, Marseille, Lille, and Lyon. Police deployed tear gas and water cannons against crowds throwing projectiles and fireworks. Paris Mayor Emmanuel Gregoire described entire streets as “devastated.”
Estimates of the crowd size varied wildly. The French interior ministry said 550,000 people attended the demonstrations. The CGT union, a major participant, pushed the figure to 800,000.
US Vice President JD Vance didn't hold back either. He blamed “Western liberals” on X, arguing they imported “the third world” into France under the guise of diversity. “They ignored fundamental questions of assimilation and compatibility,” Vance wrote.
President Emmanuel Macron, facing a country on fire just six months before the next election, struck a harsh tone. He promised that anyone responsible for vandalism or looting would be prosecuted and punished. The political fallout from the unrest is only just beginning.