Macron and Brigitte likened to Marie Antoinette as French riots reach 1,800 arrests
Around 1,800 people were arrested amid nationwide protests, with officials reporting extensive property damage and injuries to police.
President Emmanuel Macron and First Lady Brigitte were compared to Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI by demonstrators during a pop concert in Celine Dion, as unrest spread across France. More than half a million participants joined protests in cities including Paris, Marseille, Rennes and Toulouse, according to the interior ministry. By Sunday midday, authorities had detained 1,800 rioters, including 855 in Paris, and reported hundreds of injuries among police officers.
Lina Bernard, a protest organizer in Paris, told the Mail on Sunday that the couple "were acting like Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette" and appeared indifferent to public grievances. A tourism office in Lyon was set on fire and a town hall in Marseille was looted, reflecting the most violent demonstrations of the year.
France correspondent Peter Allen described the situation as "non-stop disorder" with "thousands of youngsters smashing into shops, setting fire to things, attacking the police." He noted that the unrest was replicated in multiple cities, citing attacks on police in Marseille and the burning of a historic town hall in Limoges.
President Macron stated there is "no place" for violence and pledged that those responsible for looting and damage would be prosecuted. He accused "sowers of chaos" of undermining peaceful protest, while some local reporters said the main Paris demonstration remained largely peaceful. Demonstrator Amina Kalache said the protests combined both violent and peaceful elements and expressed surprise at what she described as a heavy-handed police response.