France's protests were hijacked by ultra-left rioters

What began last month as school protests in the poor northern suburbs of Paris became a national "yellow and youth" day of action on Saturday, six months before France's presidential election. Most marches were peaceful. Some ended in arson and looting. The claim on trial is the government's account of who was responsible for the violence.

Key claims

• Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu blamed the unrest on the "far-left" and criminals, and said about 1,200 people were arrested and more than 150 police officers injured.
• Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said the demonstration was hijacked by casseurs, "opportunistic delinquents who had seen a chance to pillage and loot".
• Turnout is disputed: the Interior Ministry says about 550,000 people marched, while the CGT union says 800,000.
• Jean-Luc Mélenchon of France Unbowed backed the student protests but urged demonstrators to stay away from looting, calling it "contrary to our methods". Marine Le Pen said his party had "legitimised the violence".
• Protesters and some residents accuse police of disproportionate force against teenagers.

What the evidence says so far

The damage is well documented. The Guardian and ABC News (Australia), citing AFP, report that Limoges city hall was "largely lost" to a fire set by masked protesters, according to the regional prefect. Protesters broke into Marseille city hall and spray-painted an anarchist "A" symbol inside. Protesters in Lyon set fire to the tourism office. Shops were looted in Paris, including along Boulevard Magenta.

The government's two explanations are not the same. Lecornu points to the political far left. Nuñez describes opportunistic looters. The Guardian's headline reports that officials blamed the "ultra-left". None of the opened sources gives a breakdown of who was arrested, their affiliations or what they were charged with. The anarchist graffiti in Marseille and the black-clad groups described in Paris are consistent with organised radical groups taking part in some of the violence. They do not show that most of the violence came from them rather than from opportunistic looters, and they do not link it to any party.

All three sources report that hundreds of thousands of people marched peacefully. The violence was concentrated at the edges of marches in some cities.

Police conduct is a separate, live question. The Guardian and ABC report that the police watchdog is investigating at least two dozen allegations of police violence. The Guardian reports that Nuñez suspended a type of stun grenade against young demonstrators after a 15-year-old lost a hand in earlier protests, and that it was allowed again on Saturday. CBC reports that local officials confirmed a young protester's hand was severed in Saint-Étienne. The sources do not make clear whether these are the same incident. Lecornu did not say whether any protesters were hurt on Saturday.

The background grievances are documented: a survey of 2,000 people found about 45 percent worried about the cost of living, and fuel prices have risen since the start of the US war with Iran (ABC, Guardian).

Sources

• The Guardian: Buildings set ablaze and more than 1,200 arrested as police clash with protesters across France
• CBC: France PM says around 1,200 arrested, 150 police officers injured
• ABC News (Australia) / AFP: Buildings burn and police use tear gas during French rallies

Source notes

The arrest and injury figures come from the government. Crowd figures come from interested parties on both sides, the Interior Ministry and the CGT union. The claim that the violence was driven by the ultra-left or far left is the government's and is not yet supported by published arrest or charge data. Mélenchon and Le Pen are both campaigning ahead of the April election and have political stakes in how the violence is framed. CBC's page is a live blog that may change. BBC live coverage was seen in search but not opened. Open gaps: prosecutors' figures on who was charged, and the outcome of the watchdog investigations.

Lead image: Hooded protesters vandalise a municipal police station in Marseille during the Oct. 17 protests. Photo: Thibaud Moritz/AFP/Getty Images, via The Guardian.