Overview:
Bishops in France have condemned the weekend's rioting and looting.
France’s bishops have condemned the weekend’s riots in the country that saw shops looted, public buildings set alight and violence spill out on the streets.
Cardinal Jean-Marc Aveline, Archbishop of Marseille and president of the French Episcopal Conference released a statement on Sunday denouncing Saturday’s events as “unacceptable violence.”
“Yesterday, our city, like so many others in France, fell prey to unacceptable violence: on the sidelines of planned demonstrations, shops were looted, churches were broken into, the town hall was invaded and vandalized, a police station was ransacked, and members of the security forces were attacked,” he said.
“Along with the entire Church of Marseille, I wish to express my support and solidarity with those who were injured and with the shopkeepers who were victims of this vandalism,” he added.
He then called for peace and a rejection of the “spiral of violence.”
“I urge everyone not to be drawn into the spiral of this violence: our city and our country deserve better than this. With all believers, we pray that these disturbances will cease and that peace will return,” Aveline said.
Laurent Ulrich, the archbishop of Paris released a statement on Monday saying that especially over the weekend, the famous city was “disfigured by the violence that has taken place there.”
Describing what happened as “a trauma” he said that “under no circumstances, for no pretext, can blind violence, which wounds, steals, and sets fires, be a legitimate response.”
“We can scarcely believe that the same city that welcomed Pope Leo XIV in joy and harmony could, less than a month later, become the scene of the violence we have witnessed,” he added.
Bishop Olivier de Germay of Lyon published a statement on X (formerly Twitter) that his city had become “the scene of clashes, hatred, destruction, and looting that are unacceptable.”
“The violence that took place in Lyon on this October 17th far exceeds the bounds of a demonstration in which legitimate grievances can be expressed,” he said.
“Our thoughts and prayers go out to the shopkeepers, the law enforcement forces, and all those who were victims of these excesses, including those who wanted to demonstrate peacefully,” de Germany added.
He went on to say that the riots and violence were signs of a deeper sickness.
“I am not unaware that this violence is a sign of a society that is ailing, but I want to say with force once again that it is a dead end and can only engender more injustices and divisions,” he said.
A weekend of violence
Over the weekend, the protests that started off as a student-led movement complaining about under resourcing of schools, spiraled into outright rioting and looting.
According to the Interior Ministry, on Saturday a demonstration against rising cost-of-living saw 550,000 march in different parts of France then led to the violence.
In Lyon, looters set on fire the tourist office in Palace Bellecour. The town hall in Limoges was set on fire. Paris saw shop windows smashed and widespread looting take place.
On Monday, Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin said to France 2 that 2,331 people were arrested over the weekend. The Interior Ministry said nearly 1,000 gendarmes and police officers were injured.
French President Emmanuel Macron said the government would take an “uncompromising” stance against the rioters.
