Protests over cost of living engulf Europe
Video footage also showed the destruction of a 143-year-old French landmark after rioters allegedly set it ablaze, causing its roof to collapse into the floors below. Earlier in the week, police action left a 14-year-old boy with a fractured jaw.
In Limoges, local officials said two-thirds of the town hall had been destroyed after protesters set fire to its exterior, describing the damage as a “catastrophe for heritage”. French President Emmanuel Macron condemned “sowers of chaos” for disrupting peaceful protests and warned on Saturday that “those who have broken, attacked (police) prefectures, as well as businesses, looted even our town halls, will be prosecuted and punished. Fires continued to burn in Paris late into the evening as groups of protesters were seen in video footage stoking flames in the streets, while riot police used tear gas and baton charges to disperse crowds. Another officer was captured on camera using a headlock on a girl in Alençon, northwestern France, a move now prohibited by law. In Brussels, police fired tear gas and used water cannon to disperse demonstrators, accusing them of throwing objects at officers and setting fires. Water cannon were also deployed in Liege, east of the capital, although police did not provide an estimate of the turnout.
Hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets across France, Belgium, Italy and Portugal on Saturday to protest against rising living costs, low wages and deteriorating public services, with demonstrations turning violent in several cities.