The violence of the streets of Paris looked like rage. It revealed a society that will take years to heal

October 23, 2026 — 11:35am

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Paris: Shattered glass covers the footpath when Raphael Christophe walks to a historic square in the heart of Paris to survey the damage from the violent uprising of the night before. How does he feel about what he sees? “Revolted,” he says. The streets here are normally busy with shoppers who can stop for a coffee or aperitif at a classic French bistro. Now they are full of torched cars, burnt kiosks, smashed windows and looted shops.

Christophe, 46, is a business consultant from the regional city of Limoges. He looks around the Place de la Republique, where rioters ran amok on Saturday night, and can see the signs of more unrest. He watches a group of young men dressed in black pants, black hoodies and black balaclavas.

“They want to steal, mainly, and break everything,” he tells me. “They are very young. So it is very hard, at the beginning of their lives, to re-educate them. Perhaps they don’t want to work.

“Many things must be done, and also nothing can be done because this is like a virus in society – it’s everywhere.”

Within an hour, the young men in their black streetwear are clashing with police.

Just what do France’s angry youth want? It’s complicated

Christophe’s analogy hints at the despair in France over how to stop a violent upheaval turning into a social collapse. The unrest feels viral. The breakdown in order is so widespread, with so much mindless violence, that it is impossible to turn away with a Gallic shrug. The French have seen the danger from angry rioters who feel they have no future. What happens if more young people catch the virus?

The same question hangs over other parts of Europe at a time when many countries are struggling with low growth, high unemployment, rising welfare costs and heavy government debt. People want more from their leaders, but their leaders cannot deliver. Protest movements have swollen in Spain, Italy, Portugal, Belgium and elsewhere.

The French President, Emmanuel Macron, is yet to show he can assert control when protesters plan more rallies this weekend. More important, however, is the election early next year to choose his replacement. Some of the protests are championed by Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the left-wing presidential candidate who leads La France Insoumise (France Unbowed). For now, the political benefit is flowing to Marine Le Pen, the right-wing leader of National Rally.

The breakdown in law and order can easily spread anxiety about social decline and turn voters to the right.

When students began rallying across France last month, they were seen as peaceful protesters who wanted more school funding. Some unions joined the movement to complain about the cost of living. Then political activists chose to escalate the........

© The Age