By Shishir Prashant 
PrashantNews
France is grappling with some of its worst urban unrest in years after weeks of student-led protests over poor school conditions and rising living costs escalated into widespread rioting, looting and arson across major cities, prompting President Emmanuel Macron to promise action against those responsible.
More than 2,400 people were arrested and nearly 1,000 police officers and gendarmes injured during the weekend violence, according to French authorities. Nearly 3,000 shops were affected by looting and vandalism, while public buildings were also attacked.
The protests began in mid-September, led by high school students protesting overcrowded classrooms, teacher shortages and inadequate investment in education. The movement soon expanded as workers and residents joined demonstrations over the rising cost of living, deteriorating public services and economic hardship.
While hundreds of thousands participated in largely peaceful demonstrations, groups of masked rioters attacked shops, police stations and public buildings in cities including Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Limoges. The historic city hall in Limoges was badly damaged by fire. The unrest has revived memories of France’s 2018 Yellow Vest protests over economic grievances.
In a televised address on Sunday, Macron expressed “anger and shame” over the violence and vowed that those responsible would be held accountable. He distinguished between protesters with legitimate grievances and those who destroyed and looted property, and ordered a review of possible intelligence and security failures.
On Monday, Macron rejected Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez’s offer to resign over the security lapses. Instead, he directed the minister to ensure transparency about failures in planning and intelligence gathering and introduce new policing tactics to prevent further violence. Nuñez acknowledged that police had “lost control” in some major cities.
The government has called on local authorities to consider limited, localised curfews. Marseille has banned gatherings and demonstrations, while officials have ruled out a blanket curfew in Paris for now. The government is also preparing support measures for businesses affected by the looting.
The unrest has put additional pressure on Macron’s government six months before France’s next presidential election, with opposition parties questioning the authorities’ handling of the crisis.
The recent protests in New Delhi over voter-list revisions and the unrest in France have a common thread of discontent, though their immediate causes and scale of violence differ significantly.
In Delhi, protesters have raised concerns over alleged voter disenfranchisement during the revision of electoral rolls, demanding accountability from the Election Commission. The poll body maintains that the exercise is intended to ensure accurate voter lists.