French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday voiced the public's  anger  and  shame  over rioting and looting during nationwide protests against rising living costs and poor conditions in schools. At least 2,400 people were arrested.

Macron echoed other government officials in blaming much of the violence on far-left activists, accusing them of attacking police and public buildings to foment chaos.

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 Those who looted will have to pay for the damage, and those who sought to bring down the Republic will be held accountable,  Macron said in a televised address to the nation.

He denounced  unrestrained violence  by  insurrectionist elements from radical far-left groups, joined by numerous criminals. 

Macron earlier held an emergency meeting with senior government officials, a day after masked groups set fires and attacked city halls in several cities. He said he had instructed prefects to work with mayors to protect public buildings and businesses in the coming weeks, including by banning protests when necessary.

Flames engulfed the 19th-century City Hall in the city of Limoges, in central France, causing its roof to collapse and nearly destroying the building.

New tensions erupted in Paris on Sunday

In Paris, hundreds of protesters gathered again on Sunday at the Place de la République amid a heavy police presence. Officers used tear gas as tensions flared sporadically in the neighborhood, with small groups of people trying to set bicycles and trash bins on fire.

 The right to protest is a fundamental right. Deliberately and collectively sowing disorder through violence is not,  Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez wrote on X, citing the looting of hundreds of businesses across the country.

Authorities estimated Saturday's marches had a turnout of about 550,000, while organizers put it at 800,000. Demonstrators answered calls from a labor union, student organizations and activists hoping to revive the  yellow vest  movement, which emerged in 2018 to protest social injustice.

Mass protests in France are often marred by violence on the 


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