Paris looting spreads amid France cost-of-living protests

Looters smashed shop windows and took goods from stores across Paris on Saturday as nationwide protests over the cost of living degenerated into violence.

Crowds of masked men in black hoodies forced open metal shutters and cleared shelves of cigarettes, sunglasses, clothes, jewellery and food. In some shops, cash registers were smashed onto the floor.

The unrest erupted as hundreds of thousands of demonstrators gathered across France to denounce soaring inflation, following weeks of student protests and six months before the country’s presidential election.

France’s interior ministry said 550,000 people attended the marches. The CGT union, which took part, said 800,000 people participated.

Police used tear gas and water cannon against protesters who threw projectiles and aimed fireworks.

Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu condemned what he called “violence of extreme intensity” and said late Saturday that 1,200 people had been arrested and 150 police officers hurt.

Paris mayor Emmanuel Gregoire said whole streets in the capital “have been devastated”, while distinguishing between the right to protest and what he called unacceptable violence.

Near Place de la Republique, broken glass and debris littered roads and a pile of burning bicycles sent smoke into the air.