Uprising in France: Five moments you may have missed

The world has watched on as France is rocked by some of its largest protests and riots in a decade (despite significant competition!). We’ve compiled some moments that you may have missed from the last month.

1. The burning of the Limoges Town Hall

In a media landscape full of AI-made images of French cities burning, the most spectacular arson was very real. On the day of nationwide protests, 17 October, a group of several hundred people charged the town hall of the small city of Limoges and ignited a fire. The flames spread through the building, destroying its roof and causing its 43-meter (141-foot) clock tower to collapse. While the mayor claimed that this was a “coordinated attack”, the burning of the town hall was a part of the mass protests in the city. Additionally,  other town halls were vandalised or damaged by protesters, and the town halls of Marseille and Lille were briefly broken into by protesters using battering rams. Police have announced that they have arrested one suspect in connection to the Limoges town hall burning.

2. Curfew imposed

In Paris, Bordeaux, Lille, Lyon, Nice, and Marseille indefinite curfews were imposed in city centres after 17 October to quell continued unrest. In Paris, helicopters with search lights patrolled above Place de la République with the Interior Minister announcing that soldiers from Sentinelle, the anti-terrorism task force, would take over guarding “sensitive sites” from the regular police. This marks the first widespread enforcement of curfews since the Nahel Merzouk riots in 2023, then, as now, specifically targeted at regaining state control over the cities’ youth uprisings.

3. Far-right marches despite curfew

In Lyon, the empty city centre became the staging ground for the far-right who took advantage of the curfew to march and rally un-challenged. On the 19th of October, hundreds gathered in a demonstration “in support of traders and law enforcement” with around a hundred activists staying in the city centre after the curfew, marching and chanting  “France, the street, belongs to us” and “Islam out of Europe”. Pictures of the march show marchers carrying French flags with celtic crosses, unchallenged by the police despite the curfew orders in place.

4. Moments of solidarity

While much of the media focused on images of smashed storefronts and burning bins, looters and rioters on October 17th also took the opportunity to redistribute goods. Footage of events shows foodstuffs from looted grocery shops piled up for the city’s homeless, with one viral video showing a rough sleeper surrounded by food. Other footage shows looted menstrual products being handed out to protesters.

In addition to material support, protesters also came together in mutual aid with footage showing protesters clearing barricades to allow fire trucks to pass, as well as France’s active street medics risking police violence to administering aid.

5. “Bismillah, c’est les ténèbres”

The existence of undercover police has been a running theme of the protests with little exact confirmation and practically no mainstream media recognition. One of the most popular slogans of the protests, “Bismillah, c’est les ténèbres” is a reference to just this: a nonsensical combination of Arabic and French literally meaning “In the name of God, it’s the darkness”, used by someone students suspected of being an undercover agent in a Snapchat group chat. The alleged agent then asked a student where blockades would take place and who was selling fireworks and smoke grenades. The phrase, later repeated by Greta Thunberg, became one of the slogans of the student movement, appearing on placards in Belgium, Italy, and across French student blockades.

Footage has emerged showing alleged undercover police in black bloc throwing tear gas grenades at protesters in Metz. Additionally, in Reims it was confirmed that an undercover police office in black bloc threw a tear gas grenade at peacefully demonstrating students before he was confronted by a member of parliament. The existence of police within the black block is known, but shouldn’t be exaggerated especially considering the scale of the protests and number of participants who have chosen to take direct action.