France counts cost of violent protests, 1,800 arrested

France was assessing damage on Sunday after violent protests the previous day led to around 1,800 arrests and looting in several cities. Limoges’s 19th-century town hall was torched, while police in Paris reported 855 arrests and prosecutors said more than 500 people were in custody. Emmanuel Macron’s government and Marine Le Pen blamed ultra-left groups for the violence, while Jean-Luc Mélenchon urged demonstrators to avoid looting. The protests had been called over inflation and the cost of living.