Marseille Prepared for Further Upheaval After Protests Lead to Apocalyptic Disarray
After the weekend’s chaos, thunder and lightning rang out across Marseille, illuminating the damaged windows and boarded-up doors of hundreds of shops smashed when protests turned into anarchy.
France’s second city witnessed some of the worst violence as turmoil swept the country on Saturday. According to local business owners, around 500 businesses were damaged, with the majority being robbed.
A police union leader told the BBC that the weekend had been an “apocalyptic” misery for his colleagues. 118 cops were hurt, accounting for more than one-tenth of the national total. So far, 101 people have been arrested in the port city, with 25 percent of them being youngsters.
But by Monday, police were more visible on the city’s streets than demonstrators. Police banned demonstrations and meetings for eight hours to prevent a third day of unrest. Maryame said violence erupted at the student demonstration her classmates had attended when looters began destroying shops.
She described the earlier march’s solidarity as “beautiful” and the ensuing disarray as “terrifying,” but she was unsure whether further violence would persuade the government to listen. “It’s a complex question whether violence is justified,” she stated. But France’s history is built on revolution, and sometimes we need to make a significant impact.
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