'It's hell': residents reel after violent weekend riots across France

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Shops were looted and public buildings were set ablaze in cities across France over the weekend, as nationwide protests turned violent. Subscribe to Guardian News on YouTube ► https://www.youtube.com/user/guardianwires?sub_confirmation=1 France’s prime minister said he asked regional authorities to impose partial curfews in some cities after the government admitted police had “lost control” in several places. The unrest follows weeks of demonstrations by secondary school pupils, rocking the country six months before a crunch presidential ⁠election and amid mounting economic pressures. French prime minister calls for ‘local and partial’ curfews after riots ► https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/oct/19/french-police-lost-control-during-riots-concedes-interior-minister?CMP=yt_gn The Guardian publishes independent journalism, made possible by supporters. Contribute to The Guardian today ► https://support.theguardian.com/ Sign up to the Guardian's free new daily newsletter, First Edition ► http://theguardian.com/first-edition Website ► https://www.theguardian.com Facebook ►https://www.facebook.com/theguardian Instagram ► https://instagram.com/guardian Bluesky ► https://bsky.app/profile/theguardian.com The Guardian on YouTube: The Guardian ► https://www.youtube.com/@theguardian Guardian Australia ► https://www.youtube.com/@guardianaustralia Football Weekly ► https://www.youtube.com/@footballweeklypodcast Today in Focus ► www.youtube.com/@todayinfocuspodcast Stateside ► www.youtube.com/@statesidepodcast Politics Weekly ► https://www.youtube.com/@politicsweekly Science Weekly ► https://www.youtube.com/@scienceweeklypod Guardian Football ► https://www.youtube.com/@guardianfootball Guardian Sport ► https://www.youtube.com/@guardiansport It's Complicated ► https://www.youtube.com/@itscomplicated Guardian Live ► https://www.youtube.com/@guardianlive #france #franceprotests #franceriots #studentprotests #genzprotests