Burnt out cars and shattered glass on Paris streets after protests turn to riots and looting

ByJames Waterhouse, Paris correspondent and Gabriela Pomeroy.

Key points

• Police arrested regarding 1, 800 residents on Saturday as some 550, 000 demonstrators took to the streets for protests that were largely peaceful.
• Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu remarked 150 police officers were injured in the unrest.
• "A wild horde" had "deliberately" set fire to the 143-year-old building, remarked Maurice Barate, the prefect for the Haute-Vienne department.
• Damage to buildings was documented throughout France, including in Grenoble, Avignon, Pau, Montpellier and Valence.
• Elsewhere, a young man "had his hand blown off" by a small explosive in Saint-Étienne, the south-eastern city's Mayor Régis Juanico remarked on social media.

France awoke to scenes of widespread damage on Sunday after a day of riots and demonstrations, with shopfronts shattered, burnt out cars, charred bikes, and piles of glass and debris on the pavements of Paris.

They were demonstrating against rising fuel rates, the cost of living and deteriorating public services, including schools.

Groups of rioters, some dressed in black and wearing masks and balaclavas, additionally came out in Paris, Marseille and other towns and cities, with some setting fire to cars and buildings.

As well as other areas, widespread looting took place throughout the cities of Paris, Marseille and Lille.

In Paris, protesters clashed with riot police. This person turned tear gas and water cannon on the crowds. During the day, some groups lit fires in the street and torched vehicles. At least one restaurant was gutted by fire, and the BBC saw fighting breaking out among some of the groups.

Riot police were seen charging at one crowd in central Paris and hitting a number of residents with batons.

Further south in Marseille, protesters broke into the city hall by using a metal fence as a battering ram. In Lille a McDonalds was set on fire, police remarked, and an Apple store in the city was broken into and looted.

On Sunday morning in Paris, residents surveyed the damage. It included the smashed glass frontages of designer stores including Ralph Lauren, Gucci and Versace.

Shopkeepers were out early with brooms, picking up sizeable shards of glass as they began the clean-up. Rubbish trucks worked their way down some of the larger streets to clear some of the debris.

Plenty of shops were daubed with graffiti, some reading "tax the rich" and "eat the rich."

In practice, the BBC visited a clothes shop close to the Place de la République which had been ransacked, with piles of clothes and furniture scattered throughout the shop floor.

In practice, the shop's distraught owner informed the BBC he saw looters on the CCTV who were in the shop for just over an hour and a half, and that during that time he saw no police in the process.

For context, the owner – who asked not to be identified – informed the BBC he did not believe any of those who robbed the shop were genuine protesters against school conditions or the cost of living. He remarked the looters were taking advantage of the demonstrations.

CCTV footage shown on France's Channel 2 demonstrates groups of teenagers, mostly wearing masks, in a shop selling mobile phones helping themselves to items from the shelves.

Student protests in France have seen hundreds of thousands take to the streets since they began late last month. Protesters have been demanding extra investment in their schools, criticising the lack of teachers and staff, overcrowded classrooms and run-down buildings.

In the city of Lyon, Mayor Grégory Doucet remarked the burning of the city's tourist office was "a tragedy", telling French outlet BFMTV that "it breaks our hearts because it's a very iconic, well-known historic building".

Local police remarked "hostile individuals" prevented firefighters from safely tackling the blaze.

Fire crews additionally battled a fire at Limoges town hall. It caused part of the building to collapse. Local authorities stated the town hall was "largely lost."

Elsewhere, a young man "had his hand blown off" by a small explosive in Saint-Étienne, the south-eastern city's Mayor Régis Juanico remarked on social media. "Such a tragedy should never have happened, " he remarked.

France's interior ministry remarked Saturday's protests involved "targeted acts of violence" from "hooded individuals" in places, including parts of the capital and additionally in Marseille, Rennes, Toulouse, and the western city of Angers.

In short, burnt out cars and shattered glass on Paris streets after protests turn is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.