San Francisco Frontiers - Macron denounces 'unbridled' violence as France hit by new clashes

Nearly 2,400 people were arrested Saturday in unrest that represented some of the worst urban violence in France in years, with almost 1,000 police and gendarmes injured, seven seriously, the interior ministry said.

In an address to the nation, Macron said authorities would increase security and vowed lessons would be learned over the police response. But he stopped short of announcing any drastic measure, such as a state of emergency or curfew.

"Tonight, we all feel anger and shame," Macron said, adding that there must be a distinction between protesters with "legitimate demands" with "those who destroyed, smashed, and looted".

"Those who have destroyed must pay," he said, vowing the government would be "uncompromising" towards the "agitators from ultra-left fringe groups, joined by numerous delinquents" who "unleashed unbridled violence in our cities".

AFP journalists said police Sunday fired tear gas and stun grenades at hundreds of people gathered in a Paris square following social media calls for a gathering that authorities said had not been approved.

Bottles and rocks were hurled at police who made several arrests. Shops were also looted around Republique square with specialist anti-riot police deployed for the second day.

Violence also erupted Sunday in the southeastern city of Lyon where a police thwarted youths who attempted to smash the windows of a luxury clothing store.

- 'Lamentable' address -

The unrest came just months from a presidential election where centrist Macron cannot stand again and Marine Le Pen, the far-right presidential candidate for the National Rally party, is riding high in the polls.

Le Pen said the troubles showed that Macron's administration was "running on fumes, exhausted and disoriented". Her top lieutenant Jordan Bardella described Macron's speech as a "lamentable" address that showed the authorities had "nothing more to say" to France.

Jean-Luc Melenchon, head of the hard-left France Unbowed party, also running for president, urged Macron to respond to the protesters' demands, saying young people "need this episode to reach a positive conclusion".

Macron said "our country deserves a fine presidential election", marked by debates "with the parties, rather than in the streets with violence".

Saturday's protests had seen unions, the anti-Macron Yellow Vests movement that ruffled the early years of his presidency and school students, who had protested for the last weeks, join forces in a show of anger at the cost of living and prospects for young people.

With images of French town halls burning and shops being looted grabbing headlines around the world, US President Donald Trump waded into the debate, blaming immigration for the unrest.

"France is burning! The immigration of people from an entirely different world, people with hatred in their hearts, has shattered that once great country," Trump said in a social media post.

- 'All necessary lessons' -

Macron vowed that top officials would "make decisions in coordination with mayors to protect our cities, public buildings, and businesses."

"Seeing the streets of our cities ransacked in this way is unbearable," he said, pledging "support" for businesses that suffered.

Macron vowed there would be "full transparency" over the response by security forces to the protests, after criticism that police preparations had been inadequate.

Some opposition politicians have already called for the sacking of Interior Minister Laurent Nunez.

Macron said he had asked Nunez to "draw all necessary lessons", particularly with regard to intelligence gathering and anticipation, adding he expected "clear answers".

"It's like we had a war," a 78-year-old Paris resident Mehmet Ozeden told AFP amid burnt street barricades from Saturday's protests.

The city of Limoges lost its 19th-century town hall to a fire that local prefect, Maurice Barate, told news channel LCI had been deliberately set by "a wild horde".

In Lyon, a tourist office in the city centre was set ablaze during the protests amid multiple clashes and looting.

A 17-year-old boy had his right hand blown off by a crowd-control grenade in the southern city of Saint-Etienne. In Mulhouse a 17-year-old girl lost an eye, according to prosecutors.

V.Mitchell--SFF