France endured its worst unrest in years this weekend as nationwide protests over high living costs and declining public services turned violent ahead of a key government vote on the budget.
Demonstrations erupted into riots on Saturday, with almost 2,400 people arrested, shops looted or damaged and buildings covered in graffiti as violent groups clashed with police in cities across the country, according to the interior ministry. Nearly 1,000 police officers and gendarmes were injured, the ministry said.
President Emmanuel Macron, whose final months in office are increasingly defined by mounting political, fiscal and social discontent, ordered a review of whether there had been failings in intelligence gathering or police preparedness, and asked the government to bring together students, teachers, lawmakers, unions and business leaders this week to produce "concrete proposals" to address the crisis.
The unrest comes as Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu's minority government seeks €54 billion ($61 billion) of fiscal savings in its 2027 budget as he tries to narrow the country's growing deficit. The National Assembly is due to hold a formal vote on the first part of the bill on Tuesday.
France has in recent years struggled to rein in spending and a debt burden that has ballooned to a record €3.6 trillion in the second quarter, reaching 119% of GDP, and is becoming increasingly expensive to service as interest rates spike across the world.