Macron condemns "unbridled violence" after 2,400 arrests across France

France's president, Emmanuel Macron, has condemned "unbridled violence" after one of the most violent days of unrest the country has seen in years, with public buildings burned, hundreds of shops looted and about 2,400 people arrested.

"Watching these images, we have all asked ourselves how could French people do this to France?" he said in a televised address on Sunday.

Peaceful marches, then chaos

Tens of thousands of people joined peaceful marches in Paris and other cities on Saturday, supporting school students' demands for more teachers and repairs to crumbling schools, after weeks of protests.

But separate groups caught police by surprise with sudden gatherings, fires, barricades and clashes in cities including Paris, Bordeaux, Nice, Lyon and Marseille. Masked looters smashed shopfronts. In Limoges, the 19th-century town hall was stormed and burned down. In Marseille, masked groups stormed the city hall and a police station.

The interior ministry said nearly 1,000 police and gendarmes were injured, seven seriously. A 17-year-old boy lost a hand to a crowd-control grenade in Saint-Étienne, and a 17-year-old girl lost an eye in Mulhouse. Paris police said a record 855 people had been arrested in the capital. Traders' groups said more than 1,500 shops and businesses were ransacked.

"A colossal failure of the state"

The mayor of Limoges, Guillaume Guérin, said municipal police "ran out of ammunition" and called it "a colossal failure of the state". The interior minister, Laurent Nuñez, offered his resignation, but Macron refused it, asking him instead to explain the "failures in planning and intelligence" and to change police tactics.

Macron said peaceful demonstrators with demands over the cost of living and education must be distinguished from those who "destroy, ransack and loot", and blamed "factious groups from the ultra-left, joined by numerous delinquents". Local officials will be able to ban gatherings where necessary.

A divided response

The prime minister, Sébastien Lecornu, and the far-right presidential frontrunner, Marine Le Pen, both blamed the "ultra-left". The radical-left candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon accused the government of failings that "opened the door to chaos".

Protests across Europe

Protests over housing and the cost of living have also spread to Spain, Italy and Portugal, including Lisbon and Milan. The unrest comes as Europe faces higher energy prices driven by the war in the Middle East, and as France prepares for next year's presidential election.

Advice for travellers

France is one of the most popular destinations for British travellers, including school groups during the half-term holidays. The Foreign Office advises visitors to avoid demonstrations, follow the instructions of local authorities and keep up to date with local news. Rail and road travel in affected cities may be disrupted.