Luxury Stores Looted and City Hall Burned: Student Protests Turn Into Riot and Violence

[Anchor]

Protests that began with calls to "improve the educational environment" have spiraled out of control, leaving places across France looking like battlefields. Taking advantage of the chaos, some individuals have looted department stores and supermarkets, and even set government offices on fire.

Correspondent Kwon Yeongin reports from Paris.

[Reporter]

People with their faces covered smash the glass windows of a luxury brand store and pour inside.

They sweep through the store, stealing whatever they can get their hands on.

Looters even barged into department stores equipped with security personnel.

At one supermarket, employees can only watch helplessly as the looting unfolds.

On Saturday, October 17, protests were held in major French cities, including Paris.

Major labor organizations and other groups held protests against high inflation to join student demonstrations demanding improvements to the educational environment.

[Laura / Protester: Housing costs are too expensive. And gas prices are too high as well, which is why we came out to fight like this.]

Police estimate that 550,000 people participated, while organizers put the figure at 800,000. As the protests intensified, violent clashes erupted in various places.

French authorities announced that they arrested around 1,200 participants at the scene and that about 150 police officers were injured.

Some protesters forcibly broke into public buildings such as media outlets and city halls, and fire damage continued to mount, including a city hall in a central-western city built 143 years ago that was more than two-thirds burned down.

In particular, some protesters forced their way into shops, department stores, and shopping centers, carrying out acts of looting everywhere.

Foreign media reports are also emerging that they systematically looted stores after cutting store CCTV cables.

[Macron / French President: Citizens are guaranteed the right to protest. However, they must respect other people and property. They must not insult them or vandalize property.]

Yesterday, Saturday the 17th, rallies and protests demanding measures against high inflation and housing shortages were held not only in France but also in Italy, Belgium, and Spain.

As student protests that had been spreading over the past three weeks with public support are followed by successive looting and arson by some participants, conspiracy-theory criticisms from the far-right political circles—claiming it is agitation by radical factions—are also growing.

(Video editing: Kim Jong-mi, Video source: X (formerly Twitter) '@theinformant_x', '@WarMonltor', '@Mrgunsngear')
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.