In France, there is no longer any such thing as a “peaceful” protest. This weekend is a prime example. The protests went from zero to full bore vandalism, looting, attacking police, and burning down historic buildings.

France was in a state of shock on Sunday, as citizens walked through streets lined with shattered storefronts, charred cars and burned-out government buildings after the country’s largest demonstrations in years devolved into riots and looting.

The unrest on Saturday — which led to some 2,000 arrests — caused widespread damage to several symbols of the state, including a 19th-century city hall in Limoges, a town in central France renowned for its porcelain, that was largely destroyed in a nighttime arson attack. More than 600 police officers were injured, Laurent Nuñez, France’s interior minister, said on social media on Sunday.

Rioters attacked city halls from Lille in northern France to Marseille in the south, where they broke into the local government headquarters and tipped over a bust of Marianne, a symbol of the French Republic. A fire also destroyed a tourist office in Lyon, and 1,500 shops were damaged or looted nationwide, according to Alexandre Bompard, head of the French federation of commerce and distribution, who estimated that the cost of repairs could run into hundreds of millions of dollars.

People are shocked by all the violence. Where have they been these last few years? Hiding under all the rocks?

The city hall in Limoges was built in 1883 and was designated as a historic landmark in 1975. Yesterday, criminals masquerading as protestors set it on fire.

Limoges wasn’t the only town or city in France hit with violence, vandalism and destruction.

Around 400 people were arrested on Saturday, according to Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez, as more than a half million people took part in more than 100 marches across the country.

Masked groups also attempted to break into city halls in Lille and Calais and a police station in Brest, the interior minister reported, along with violence in Rennes, Toulouse, Montpellier and Grenoble, among other cities.

All the political parties in France are pointing fingers of blame at each other. Which solves nothing and essentially adds to the problem. Oh sure, people were arrested. Will they actually face any consequences such as significant jail time for attacking police officers, or setting historic buildings on fire? Not hardly.

Furthermore, these riots and the destruction that came with it aren’t about those poor starving students. Nor is it entirely about economics. The pain and the destruction is the point with these groups. As research is finding, many of these protest groups are all about destroying Western civilization.

As Brad Parscale writes at Townhall, the French government’s answer has always been that of adding another socialist program or regulation to the roster in hopes that that will finally be the ONE fix to all the problems. How’s that working out guys?

https://twitter.com/Mileistesfr/status/2111586691396124677

It’s a safe bet that that young lady, smacked upside the head with a reality clue bat, still doesn’t get it.

Meanwhile, as the protests were raging and the historic city hall in Limoges was burning, what was President Macron doing? Nothing.

He offered up a sternly worded, useless statement.

No room for violence in our Republic. Those who have broken, attacked the prefectures as well as businesses, looted even our town halls, will be prosecuted and punished. To the law enforcement forces, guarantors of the right to demonstrate, I express the support of the Nation. We will all stand united against the sowers of chaos, who seek only to bring down our institutions and prevent those who peacefully express their demands from doing so.

Yeah, that’ll fix their wagon. NOT. Especially given Macron literally did the meme. Partying while his country burns.

Emmanuel Macron last night while France is burning to the ground:

"Hmmm… Take Brigitte to a Celine Dion concert or save France? Hard choices…." pic.twitter.com/Xkxlmi7Ius

— Vesper (@vesperdigital) October 18, 2026

Evidently Macron got a bit of a clue, and will address France later on today. I’m sure it will be a very pretty speech. With zero consequences to those who gleefully vandalized and looted businesses, attacked the police, and set fire to historic buildings.

Macron and the French government built this. The voters added to it by continuing to elect useless people into power.

His pretty speech to the country won’t solve a thing.

This post wins the internet for today. pic.twitter.com/b9tGgeeoEK

— Rabooby13 (@rabooby13) October 18, 2026

I’ll admit it. I laughed at that. And yes, the comparison is apt.

One final thought. In his speech, who will he blame now? Earlier this month, too much freedom of speech was the problem. Who will be the bad guy now?

https://twitter.com/MauroReforma/status/2111828822525903080

Let’s hope he doesn’t channel Jimmy Carter again. But if he did, that would be entirely on brand for him.

Feature Photo Credit: Original artwork by Victory Girls Darleen Click