3:24 • Monday night first, then residents’ accounts from the weekend • real audio and natural sound, no narration • French and Italian subtitled by us • this morning’s video
Content note: fires, looting and a shopkeeper being kicked; no serious injuries shown.
The President. Speaking to reporters at the White House on Monday, President Trump said: “What’s happening in France has to do with immigration, not schools, not anything. It’s immigration.” He also said “Paris is going to be a Muslim city very soon” (C-SPAN; CNN; USA Today). Earlier he posted on Truth Social: “The migrants have taken over France. They must CLOSE THE BORDERS, FAST!” (The Hill). USA Today notes that French leaders have said the protests center on affordability.
Tonight. Partial curfews took effect Monday night in parts of Paris (11 p.m.–6 a.m.), central Lyon (from 9 p.m.) and, for minors, in Nice and Lille, among others (RTL; TF1 Info). Le Figaro’s reporter described Les Halles as calm shortly after the curfew began (Le Figaro). Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin said 2,513 people have been held in police custody since Saturday and 67 jailed (Le Parisien; Le Figaro). Italy will send 500 more soldiers to Milan; a public-order decree goes to the Cabinet on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. Rome time (LaPresse; Il Messaggero).
Residents and help on the ground (click to open)
- Marseille. Omar, a 54-year-old city employee, told Le Parisien he went into the Noailles municipal police post as rioters set smoke bombs inside, used an extinguisher on fires starting and barricaded the door. Ouest-France, citing Le Parisien, says he was alone for nearly 30 minutes before help came; marine firefighters arrived first, then CRS riot police (Le Parisien; Ouest-France).
- Limoges. Mayor Guillaume Guérin told BFMTV he had only his municipal police to protect the town hall and that the national police “took an hour” to arrive. This is his account; we have not seen a police response (BFMTV). In Le Figaro he said police “pulled back” in front of rioters (Le Figaro).
- Paris. BFMTV showed residents using a garden hose on a street fire Sunday night (BFMTV). Cloé, who lives in the 10th arrondissement, told BFMTV that rioters set fire to a first-floor apartment next door while people were inside; she said firefighters “arrived quickly” but the fire had already caught (BFMTV; BFMTV live). Two municipal police officers attacked Sunday night took refuge in residents’ homes, the 9th-arrondissement mayor told AFP (Le Figaro / AFP).
- Nice. Pierre, manager of a Micromania store, stood in front of his shop and was kicked to the ground before looters got in. He told BFMTV: “I just held the line” (BFMTV).
- Lyon. TF1 Info reports that the crowd kept firefighters from reaching the burning tourist-office building on Place Bellecour (TF1 Info).
- Students. In a video from ici, high-school students put out a fire someone in their march had started; the city is not given (ici).
France (click to open)
- Curfews. Paris: the central plaza of Place de la République and streets around Les Halles, 11 p.m.–6 a.m., for everyone; protests are banned in wider areas from 8 p.m. Lyon: part of the Presqu’île, 9 p.m.–6 a.m. Nice: minors, 9 p.m.–6 a.m. in the center, until Oct. 25. Parts of Lille (minors only), Douai, Denain and Wattignies, from 8 p.m. Bordeaux: minors, 10 p.m.–7 a.m., from Tuesday to Oct. 26 (RTL; TF1 Info; BFMTV; Le Figaro).
- Justice. Darmanin said 2,513 people have been held in police custody and 67 jailed, with “dozens” of judicial investigations; he told prosecutors to treat cases as organized crime, which allows 72-hour custody. The anti-terror prosecutor is weighing whether to take the Limoges town hall fire (Le Figaro; Le Parisien). Those charged are accused, not convicted.
- Marseille. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez met Mayor Benoît Payan Monday night and promised a “very large” police deployment for Saturday. Nuñez said the groups were “very complicated to contain.” Payan cited “a failure of organization” and put the damage at €28 million (his estimate). Prosecutors report 101 arrests in Marseille for Saturday (Le Figaro; franceinfo).
- Lyon area. Eleven people, all minors according to the town hall, were arrested after clashes at a Vaulx-en-Velin shopping center Monday (prefecture). Despite a protest ban, about 500 people (organizers’ figure) rallied at Place Bellecour in support of shopkeepers; a few dozen then marched with far-right symbols, according to AFP (Le Figaro / AFP).
- Next. PM Lecornu visits Limoges Friday. Unions meet him Wednesday. Student groups and the Yellow Vests have called new protests for Saturday, Oct. 24. The U.S. Embassy has told Americans to avoid protest areas (Le Figaro).
Italy (click to open)
- Decree. After Meloni’s Palazzo Chigi meeting, the government will send 500 more soldiers to Milan. A decree going to the Cabinet Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. would include preventive detention of up to 24 hours (minors included), a new crime of aggravated damage, and deferred arrest within 48 hours for rioting. Reports say the soldiers may get police powers. These are proposals until the Cabinet adopts them (LaPresse; La Stampa; Il Messaggero; Tg1).
- Milan. Luxury shops on Via Montenapoleone closed early Monday for fear of new looting; damage is estimated at over €1 million. Prosecutors described “rare violence” (ANSA; Corriere). A center-right rally in Piazza San Carlo had tense moments with young counter-protesters; police kept them apart (MilanoToday). President Mattarella called the violence “unacceptable” (ANSA).
Elsewhere in Europe (click to open)
- Albania. Protests in Tirana entered a seventh day Monday; AP says demonstrators threw rocks and police fired tear gas (AP).
Photos (click to open)
The Nice (BFMTV) and Marseille (Le Parisien) reports include social-media video, UNVERIFIED by us.
Clips used under fair use for news commentary; sources are credited in the video.
