• France is experiencing some of its worst civil unrest in years.
• So, what came before it?
• Here are 10 of France's biggest protests and riots over the past 100 years.

France is experiencing one of its largest riots and protests in years.

What began as peaceful demonstrations over school conditions culminated in nationwide cost-of-living protests and, subsequently, riots.

French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said Tuesday that curfews imposed on Monday contributed to a calm night, though more protests are planned, according to Reuters.

The riots and protests echo many in France's long history of mass demonstrations. From nationwide strikes to student demonstrations, several have brought the country to a standstill, in some cases prompting France's leaders to announce a state of emergency.

Take a look at some of France's biggest and most impactful protests and riots over the past 100 years.

1934 — February 6 riots

Veterans and right-wing demonstrators took to the streets following a government corruption scandal. At least 15 people were killed.

The French Prime Minister at the time resigned the following day, stoking fears of a fascist coup.

1936 — Popular Front strikes

Alongside an economic crisis, fears of a fascist coup after the 1934 riots helped unite left-wing parties and trade unions. Mass strikes and factory occupations in May and June 1936 led to major labor reforms, according to France's National Assembly.

1948 — Miners' strike

In 1948, 300,000 French coal miners went on strike to protest economic conditions, per The New York Times. There was a heavy government crackdown, where some striking miners were killed, and another 3,000 were fired, according to AFP.

1961 — Paris Algerian demonstration and massacre

About 30,000 Algerians peacefully demonstrated against a curfew and in support of Algeria's independence, according to the BBC.

French police brutally cracked down. Historians estimate that at least 120 Algerians were killed, though some estimates put that number closer to 300, Al Jazeera reported.

1968 — May 1968

What started as a student movement demanding university reforms turned into millions of people striking after trade unions joined the uprising.

Between the protests and rioting, the demonstrations brought the nation to a standstill. To restore order, then-president Charles de Gaulle dissolved the National Assembly and called early elections, which his party won in June.

In this year's student protests, many banners referenced "May 1968," Time reported.

1986 — Anti-Devaquet student protests

Hundreds of thousands of students protested proposed university reforms they feared would restrict access to higher education.

Three weeks of violent clashes with police left hundreds injured and 22-year-old Malik Oussekine dead, forcing Prime Minister Jacques Chirac to withdraw the reforms, Time reported.

1995 — Strikes against pension reforms

Between October and December 1995, public-sector workers went on strike against proposed austerity measures and pension reforms, bringing the country to a standstill, per the Global Nonviolent Action Database.

Then-prime minister Alain Juppé withdrew the proposed changes to public-sector pension plans, though other parts of his reform package went ahead.

2005 — French riots

After two teenagers died while hiding from the police, riots began in Clichy-sous-Bois, a Parisian suburb, which then spread to other cities, the BBC reported at the time.

The government declared a state of emergency as unrest spread. The riots lasted about three weeks, while the state of emergency ended after about two months.

2018 — Gilets Jaunes

"Les Gilets Jaunes," or 'the yellow vests' in English, was a 2018 protest movement against a planned increase in fuel taxes that evolved into broader anti-government demonstrations, leading to deaths.

The French Prime Minister, Édouard Philippe, froze the tax hike in December that year and then fully canceled it days later.

2023 — Pension reform protests

Hundreds of thousands of people protested and went on strike against President Emmanuel Macron’s pension reforms, which raised the retirement age from 62 to 64, according to Le Monde.

Macron's government enacted the reform despite the protests; the retirement age began rising in September 2023 and is scheduled to reach 64 by 2030.

• France's cost-of-living protests descended into violence and looting over the weekend.
• Hundreds of thousands demonstrated amid growing anger over the cost of living and public services.
• From soaring energy prices to declining incomes, five figures help explain the unrest.

France's growing anger over the cost of living erupted into scenes of looting and violence over the weekend.

While most of the hundreds of thousands of people who demonstrated across the country did so peacefully, clashes broke out between police and some protesters, with officers firing tear gas.

The unrest began as student protests over worsening school conditions, but has since grown into a broader movement fueled by frustration over the unaffordability of life in France.

The financial pressures facing French households are familiar to Americans: surging energy prices, wages struggling to keep pace with inflation, and the difficulty of making ends meet.

Here are four numbers that help explain the financial frustrations driving the protests.

1. The poverty rate is at a 30-year high

INSEE defines monetary poverty as having a standard of living below 60% of the national median, adjusted for household size. In 2024, that threshold was €1,337 a month for someone living alone.

France's monetary poverty rate stood at 15.4% in 2024, its highest level since annual records began in 1996, according to INSEE data published in July. The figures are the latest available because calculating poverty rates requires detailed tax and benefits records, which take time to compile and analyze.

That means around 9.8 million people in mainland France were living below the poverty line.

2. Energy prices are up more than 60% since 2015

It's not just Americans who are grappling with rising energy costs.

Energy prices in France increased by more than 60% between 2015 and the first half of 2026, according to INSEE. Electricity prices rose 43% over that period, while fuel prices were 31% higher at the end of 2025 than in 2015.

As with much of the world, the war in Iran and the Strait of Hormuz crisis sent fuel prices soaring. By April 2026, fuel prices in France were 30% higher than at the end of 2025, per the INSEE report.

Rising fuel costs were behind French protests in September, and members of that movement have joined students and trade unions in the riots over the past week.

3. Nearly 3 in 10 French people can't afford unexpected expenses

Data from Eurostat, the European Union's statistics agency, shows that 28.8% of people in France lived in households that couldn't afford an unexpected expense without borrowing or seeking financial help in 2025.

France isn't particularly unusual in the wider European context — the EU average was also around 29% — but the figures illustrate the financial insecurity facing almost a third of households as people protest over the cost of living.

4. More than 40% of French people experienced some difficulty making ends meet

More than four in 10 people in France (41.1%) lived in households that reported at least some difficulty making ends meet in 2025, according to Eurostat data.

Of those, 19.4% reported some difficulty, 13.7% reported difficulty, and 8% reported great difficulty, highlighting the widespread financial strain facing French households.

• The Louvre Museum said Monday it had closed its doors after student protests blocked its entrances.
• Riots and unrest have swept France in recent weeks, with violence erupting in Paris this weekend.
• The home of artworks like the "Mona Lisa" and the "Venus de Milo" gets around 9 million visitors a year.

The Louvre, the world's busiest and best-known museum, has shut its doors as disorder sweeps Paris.

The museum, home to some of the planet's most famous artworks, such as the "Mona Lisa" and the "Venus de Milo," said Monday that it had closed after protesters blocked its doors, extending the disruption beyond a weekend of demonstrations and riots across France.

"Dear visitors, due to student strikes the museum is currently closed. We apologize for the inconvenience," the Louvre said in a post on X. It gave no reopening time, and did not say whether it would reopen on Monday.

Students from the École du Louvre led the blockade in support of a nationwide high school protest movement and to denounce what they called police repression, AFP reported, citing museum management and unions.

The Louvre is visited by about 9 million people annually, making it by far the world's most visited museum.

Monday's shutdown bookends a difficult year for the museum. On this exact date last year, four thieves broke into the Apollo Gallery and stole eight pieces of France's crown jewels, valued at around $100 million.

The closure followed a weekend of protests over rising living costs and conditions in schools, with violence and looting in several French cities.

A Paris shopkeeper whose gold-buying store was broken into told Business Insider's Nathan Rennolds that thieves had "taken everything." He also found a Nicolas wine store on Sunday, its windows smashed and shelves picked clean.

Employees at a nearby boutique said they had hired extra security but closed early as the violence intensified.

At least 2,400 people were arrested after the weekend unrest, according to the Associated Press.

After an emergency meeting on Monday, French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said he had instructed regional officials to impose limited, localized curfews.

In a separate statement, President Emmanuel Macron's office said the president had ordered a review of failures in security planning and intelligence gathering.

• France wasn't alone this weekend.
• Civil unrest occurred in several European cities this weekend.
• Protests over the high cost of living devolved into riots.

Demonstrators took to the streets across multiple European cities and capitals this weekend to protest the high cost of living in their countries.

Though the violence in Paris and other French cities claimed the headlines, thousands also showed up in Portugal, Italy, and Belgium. Demonstrators were arrested in large numbers — many people were seen in photos and videos clashing violently with police and looting local businesses.

Energy price hikes, caused at least in part by the US-Israeli war with Iran and the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, have contributed to the rising prices. Other demonstrations in Belgium and France were begun by students and have since snowballed into larger-scale demonstrations, involving union workers and other organizations.

Here's a look at the chaos that unfolded across the Atlantic this weekend, where peaceful protests eventually devolved into riots and looting.

Lisbon

In Lisbon, Portugal's capital, people took to the streets on October 17 to protest the cost-of-living crisis, low wages, and unaffordable housing.

The demonstration, which was organized by the CGTP, Portugal's largest trade union federation, was also held in Porto and Coimbra. In all, the union said "thousands of workers" took part.

About 12.7% of the population in Portugal lives in overcrowded households.

Housing prices in Portugal recorded the largest annual increase of any EU member state in the second quarter of 2026, rising 16.5%. In Lisbon, the average rent is equivalent to 116% of the average salary, meaning it exceeds a typical monthly income by 16%.

Earlier this week, police removed a tent camp that activists had set up in Praça D. João I, a central public square in Porto, to draw attention to rising housing costs.

Brussels

In Belgium, students have held demonstrations in recent weeks over rising education costs, some of which turned violent over the weekend.

Video footage showed police using water cannons and tear gas during clashes with protesters in Brussels.

Belgian interior minister Bernard Quintin said in a post on X on Saturday that "what is unfolding in Brussels is no longer mere protest" and "all necessary means will be used to restore order in the face of the rioters."

Clashes also took place in Liège. Police arrested 195 people across the two cities during Saturday's protests, per The Brussels Times.

Milan

In Milan, a demonstration over the weekend against wars and the rising cost of living also descended into clashes between protesters and police.

Photos showed chaotic scenes around Piazza del Duomo, the landmark central square outside the Milan Cathedral and one of the city's busiest tourist areas, with looters damaging shop fronts and setting objects on fire.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni condemned the violence in a post on X on Sunday.

"Thugs who exploit demonstrations to sow chaos, attack those who ensure security, and hold entire cities hostage," she wrote. "Demonstrating is a right. Setting our cities ablaze is not."

The demonstrations were also held in other cities across northern Italy. Police estimates reported by Rai News, Italy's public broadcaster put turnout at about 5,000 in Milan, 3,000 in Turin, 2,000 in Bologna, 600 in Brescia, and 800 in Bergamo.

Italy's annual inflation rate jumped to 4.1% in September, up from 3.2% in August.

In Milan, home prices have also climbed: residential asking prices were 49% higher in September than in 2018, according to the property portal Immobiliare.it.

• It's a dangerous time to own a brick-and-mortar storefront in France.
• Violence erupted across the country on Saturday, as black-clad rioters ransacked stores.
• Around 1,500 storefronts were targeted, one corporate heavyweight said.

Business owners in France are speaking out after cost-of-living protests turned into widespread rioting and looting across the country over the weekend.

Alexandre Bompard, the CEO of Carrefour, one of France's largest supermarket chains, said that about 1,500 businesses were targeted in the unrest.

Bompard and several other corporate heavyweights condemned the rioting and called on French authorities to restore order.

Photos and video from Paris and other French cities showed black-clad rioters smashing storefronts and leaving laden with armfuls of pilfered goods.

"We cannot allow violence to destroy what generations have put so much energy into building," Thierry Guibert, the CEO of Lacoste, said on X.

Here's what business owners are saying.

Thierry Guibert, CEO of Lacoste and Aigle.

Guibert, who heads the luxury French clothing brand Lacoste and the outdoor clothing brand Aigle, issued a forceful statement on social media. He said the looting is antithetical to the entrepreneurial spirit.

"When our Lacoste and Aigle stores are looted, like so many other businesses across France, it is not only shop windows that are being smashed," he said in French. "It is jobs, years of work, know-how, and the commitment of thousands of women and men that are being put at risk."

Guibert said his concerns were shared by other entrepreneurs and smaller shop owners across France. He portrayed the riots as a degradation of French industry.

Lacoste operates about 150 storefronts across France.

Fabien Devide, CEO of Team Vitality

The head of one of France's biggest professional esports organizations said that a part of him "went up in smoke" after his gaming café and club was looted on Saturday.

"The right to demonstrate is a fundamental freedom that I will defend all my life," Devide said on social media. "But looting and destruction should never have a place in these fights."

The esports organization operates a 4,300-square-foot gaming center, merchandise store, and café in central Paris. Vitality's X account posted on Saturday that "the premises of our club were looted."

"Fortunately, none of our staff members nor any fans were injured," Vitality said. "On the other hand, our display windows were destroyed, and our trophies and computer equipment were stolen."

Alexandre Bompard, CEO of Carrefour

Bompard, the CEO of the French supermarket and retail chain Carrefour, said that 50 of its stores were targeted by rioters on Saturday.

"Nothing can justify such violence," Bompard said on X in French. "Those who attack the work tools of courageous entrepreneurs and their teams in this way must face an uncompromising response."

"The Republic must protect its shopkeepers!" he added.

He attached four photos to his X post showing the ruined aisles of one Carrefour store. In the pictures, items litter the ground, and the shelves are empty.

Thierry Cotillard, chairman of Les Mousquetaires

Thierry Cotillard, chairman of Les Mousquetaires, a French retail group that owns the Intermarché supermarket brand, called the looting "unacceptable" in a LinkedIn post.

"We cannot trivialize these scenes," he said. "We cannot accept that violence becomes a response, that destruction becomes a mode of expression and that those who work honestly become the collateral victims of the anger of others."

Cotillard said at least two of his franchises in Paris and Rennes were "ransacked by thugs" during the riots on Saturday. He said his thoughts were with "all the shopkeepers who are paying the price."

"To our members, to our teams who are victims of this damage: you are not alone," he said. "We are at your side."

Dominique Schelcher, CEO of Coopérative U

Schelcher, CEO of supermarket and hypermarket retail collective Coopérative U, said some of the group's stores had been looted or attacked in several city centers, including Paris.

The collective comprises some 1,900 grocery stores and supermarkets owned by independent business owners.

"In the face of the shock, the solidarity of our network will be total," Schelcher wrote in a LinkedIn post on Sunday.

Schelcher later made a separate post calling on French leaders and politicians to "pursue calm, mutual respect, and the urgent development of a collective vision."

"There must not be another October 17," he added.

Catherine Spindler and Guillaume Motte, chief execs at Sephora

Catherine Spindler, president of Sephora's business in Europe and the Middle East, said several of the beauty retailer's stores had been "ransacked."

"Even more serious, women and men in our teams have been confronted with situations of violence, fear, and great tension," she wrote in a LinkedIn post.

Sephora closed all its stores on Saturday at 5 p.m. and kept most of them shuttered on Sunday, Spindler wrote.

"Anger can be expressed. Convictions can be opposed. But nothing should justify women and men becoming the victims of this violence," she added.

Guillaume Motte, global CEO of Sephora, chimed in with support for Spindler on LinkedIn.

"We stand together!" he wrote.

Nicolas Houzé, executive chairman of Galeries Lafayette

Nicolas Houzé, executive chairman of Galeries Lafayette, mourned France's global reputation in a post on LinkedIn, saying the riots produced "scenes of unprecedented violence throughout France."

"No demand can legitimize violence in France," wrote Houzé on LinkedIn, saying that almost all of his firm's points of sale had been affected by the attacks.

Galeries Lafayette, an upscale department store chain, runs about 50 outlets in France.

"Beyond the destruction and major economic losses for all those involved in trade, it is also the image of our country, its attractiveness, and its ability to welcome its visitors in the best conditions that are deeply affected," he added.

Alexandre Prot and Steve Anavi, cofounders of Qonto

Fintech firm Qonto's founders, Steve Anavi and Alexandre Prot, said a fire had been started at their company's offices in Paris.

Anavi wrote on LinkedIn that the office fire was intentional, calling it an "arson attack."

"Violence and vandalism have no place in our society. Nothing can justify such acts," he added.

In a separate post, Prot said no one was injured in the fire.

"We'll repair the damage as soon as possible. In the meantime, Qonto's operations continue as normal," he wrote.

The company offers payment, bookkeeping, and other business management software, primarily targeting small- to medium-sized enterprises and startups.

Alain Di Crescenzo, President of CCI France

Alain Di Crescenzo, president of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in France, called for affected merchants to receive support amid the "inexcusable" violence.

"This violence is UNACCEPTABLE," Di Crescenzo wrote on LinkedIn.

"Breaking up a business is breaking up a neighborhood. It is to scare away customers, to discourage those who wanted to set up, to damage for a long time what years have built," he added.

Di Crescenzo said his organization, which represents roughly 2 million private businesses in France, is mapping the damage across affected cities and is creating "support units" to help its members.

• Paris erupted as protests turned to riots and masked looters ransacked stores on Saturday.
• Small business owners took stock of what they'd lost on Sunday.
• "When I got back, they'd taken everything," one store owner told Business Insider.

"When I got back, they'd taken everything."

That's what one shopkeeper in Paris told me as she cleared debris from her store after major cost-of-living protests turned violent across parts of France.

Chaotic scenes unfolded on Saturday as rioters clashed with police and set vehicles and trash bins alight before masked marchers began to ransack businesses, including in the trendy Marais shopping district.

After hundreds of arrests and a tense, momentary calm on Sunday morning, more violence broke out Sunday evening as black-clad rioters dragged debris into streets and set it aflame.

Employees at a boutique fashion brand working in the area as the riots unfolded told me the situation felt "dystopian," and that at one point tear gas began seeping into the store. That apparently was not enough to put some shoppers off, however, as some continued to browse, they said.

They added that there was a heavy police presence on the street throughout Saturday, and that although they had hired extra security, they eventually decided to close early as the violence intensified.

Cycling through the city on Sunday, I followed what felt like a path of destruction that steadily ramped up as I neared the Place de République, where the city's 3rd, 10th, and 11th arrondissements meet — the scene of some of Saturday's most serious violence.

I stopped at several stores along the way to photograph the damage and speak with shop workers about their experiences.

A store owner at a gold-buying shop whose front window had been smashed told me she was forced to close up early on Saturday.

"I got a call. It was my neighbor, who was working next door at the restaurant. He'd made a video showing a group of young people," she said, adding that they forced the door open and "smashed everything up."

"They stole things," she said. "When I got back, they'd taken everything."

Later, I stopped outside a ransacked Nicolas wine store, one of the country's most prominent wine retail brands. The storefront was agape, the entrance and both display windows smashed, revealing shelves picked clean. Empty Champagne boxes and glass littered the floor.

Among the other businesses targeted by looters and damaged in the violence across Paris on Saturday were major supermarket chains, tech stores, bars, and vape shops.

Alexandre Bompard, the CEO of the Carrefour Group, one of France's biggest supermarket chains, said the cost of repairs to damaged stores would run well over $11 million. He said the destruction would lead to "considerable human and economic consequences," as franchise partners would be forced to reduce the hours of dozens of employees.

On the other side of Paris, the situation was calmer on Saturday. Outside my apartment in Montmartre, for example, life ticked along as usual, terraces full of weekend revelers and a Saturday buzz in the air.

A bartender at a popular Irish pub along the boulevard — a few doors down from the Moulin Rouge — said it had been a particularly busy evening and that she had seen no trouble, adding that people were on the whole "very polite."

By Sunday morning, however, many other Parisians were greeted by smashed storefronts and ATMs, broken glass, litter-filled streets, and burned-out cars as they emerged into a chilly, blue-skied morning.

And there were signs the city had begun to recover. Workers were already making repairs to an employment agency that had been broken into, and volunteers swept the streets.

As Paris tries to get back on its feet, Mayor Emmanuel Grégoire said that local businesses would receive government help. He said he had requested the creation of an "emergency task force to support shopkeepers" with insurance and administrative procedures.

"You bring Paris to life every day. Today, it's Paris's turn to stand by your side," he said.