Over 1,500 stores estimated damaged, looted in France

Over 1,500 stores estimated damaged, looted in France

The head of a French retailers' group says more than 1,500 stores across the country are estimated to have been damaged or looted during unrest that accompanied massive demonstrations on Saturday.

Rioters took advantage of a large-scale protest over rising prices and the educational environment, setting fire to public facilities and looting stores.

The Interior Ministry announced on Sunday that more than 2,300 people had been detained.

In Paris, rioters smashed the windows of a number of stores. They looted a smartphone shop, stealing items worth about 70,000 euros, or roughly 78,000 dollars.

The store's owner said that he hadn't slept at all since the previous night. He added that the shop was like his own child, and that he had lost everything.

A 70-year-old man living in Paris said he was furious and that destroying stores is not peaceful protest but violence. He said it was shocking that something like this had happened in his neighborhood.

An 18-year-old college student said the vandalism had been carried out not by students but by people whose only purpose was to destroy property, adding that their actions were overshadowing the students' demands.

People gathered in a square in Paris on Sunday for a second consecutive day, facing off against police officers.

French President Emmanuel Macron delivered a speech on TV the same day, denouncing the nationwide riots that took place the previous day. He said nothing could justify or explain such acts.

Macron urged people not to confuse those who took to the streets to voice legitimate demands with those who engaged in vandalism and looting. He expressed his intention to tackle inflation and rising fuel prices.

Regarding students' calls for a better educational environment, Macron said that the prime minister is expected to bring together schoolchildren, university students, teachers and others in the coming days to find a solution.