Out of control? France stunned by October 17 rioting

Home Shows The Debate To display this content from YouTube, you must enable advertisement tracking and audience measurement. One of your browser extensions seems to be blocking the video player from loading. To watch this content, you may need to disable it on this site. Cover image: THE DEBATE © FRANCE 24 42:13 Issued on: 20/10/2026 - 11:08Modified: 20/10/2026 - 11:13 From the show France didn't just erupt on Saturday – it exploded. Police were doubly overwhelmed by the turnout of the October 17 cost-of-living demonstrations, which saw two and-a-half times the crowds they expected. Officers were also overwhelmed by determined flashmobs: some radical militants hellbent on a fight, others who came for the looting. The whole world watched the assault on symbols of the Republic like the 19th-century city hall in Limoges, the usually quiet porcelain capital of France. There's anger over rioting, but also over growing inequality, six months out from a presidential election where the extreme right and left have a huge lead in the polls. What should the response be? How does President Emmanuel Macron's minority lame-duck government, with no money in the state coffers to throw at the problem, restore faith in leadership, institutions including the police – and democracy? What message should be conveyed to France's youth, who sparked the movement to draw attention to deteriorating conditions in their schools? How to offer hope to the next generation? Produced by Rebecca Gnignati, Elisa Amiri, Ilayda Habip.