France counts 1,800 arrests as Macron prepares address

French police arrested about 1,800 people over the weekend of protests and looting, Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said, as President Emmanuel Macron prepared to address the nation on Sunday evening after the country’s worst unrest in years.

The arrests are well above the 1,200 reported earlier by Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu, and about 500 police officers, firefighters and paramedics were hurt, Nuñez said, according to ABC News (Australia). The figures are still moving and sources differ, so this story is developing.

Updated Oct. 18, 2026: Counts differ by outlet. ABC reported about 1,800 arrests and 500 injured. The National reported more than 2,000 arrests and more than 600 injured officers, also citing Nuñez. Canada News Media has not been able to reconcile them.

Macron was due to speak at 8 p.m. local time (2 p.m. ET) after meeting key ministers, The National and ABC reported. What he said was not available when this story was published.

The Interior Ministry put turnout at 550,000 nationwide on Saturday, while the CGT union said 800,000 people marched. Our earlier report detailed how the protests grew from a student movement over school conditions into a wider revolt over living costs.

The damage is now becoming clearer. In Paris, 557 people were in custody after what officials called a record number of arrests, ABC reported. The Retail and Trade Federation estimated about 1,500 businesses were damaged, with losses in the hundreds of millions of euros, ABC reported.

Carrefour chief executive Alexandre Bompard said 50 of its stores were damaged and 20 looted, with losses in the tens of millions of euros, The National reported. Bordeaux Mayor Thomas Cazenave said up to 100 shops were looted in his city, The National said.

In Limoges, the 19th-century town hall was destroyed by fire. Prefect Maurice Barate said the fire was deliberately set, ABC reported. Mayor Guillaume Guérin spoke of a “clear, premeditated intention to burn down the town hall” and threatened to resign if the city did not receive repair funds, The National reported. A tourist office in central Lyon was also set on fire.

One person died during the main Paris march. ABC said officials described the death as health-related and not linked to the violence. The National said the person suffered a cardiac arrest.

Lamia El Aaraje, a Paris deputy mayor, said the capital saw “a level of violence that we have never, I believe, seen before,” ABC reported. Lyon Mayor Grégory Doucet called the chaos in his city “abominable.”

The political fight over blame has started. The government and National Rally leader Marine Le Pen blamed ultra-left groups, while Jean-Luc Mélenchon of the hard-left France Unbowed accused authorities of inflaming tensions, ABC reported. Lecornu has also blamed the “ultra-left” and criminals, The National reported. Economy Minister Roland Lescure said “those who break things will pay, repair the damage and be held accountable,” and Marseille Mayor Benoît Payan announced emergency aid for affected businesses.

The unrest comes as Lecornu’s government tries to pass an austerity budget through a hung parliament, and as Macron, who leaves office in 2027, heads into his final months. Le Pen has said she would end French aid to Ukraine after six months if elected, which we reported on Oct. 17.

For Canadians, France is among the most visited countries in Europe, and the Canadian diaspora and students there may face transport disruption and closed shops in major cities. The federal government’s travel advisories for France are posted at travel.gc.ca. Canada and France have also deepened ties in 2026, including a June agreement on intelligence exchanges, which we reported here.

Next, the content of Macron’s address, whether the government changes course on school funding or the budget, and whether further marches follow this week. Law professor Alberto Alemanno of HEC Paris told Al Jazeera earlier that similar mobilizations were expected in Greece, Germany and Austria in the coming week.

Via ABC News (Australia), The National and Al Jazeera.

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