France's Cost-of-Living Protests Ended With a Town Hall in Flames, and Vance Already Knows the Culprit: Immigration

On Saturday, October 17, France went through some of the worst street riots in decades. Protests against the cost of living were organised in more than a hundred cities, and in Paris, Limoges, Marseille, Lyon and Bordeaux they turned into arson, looting and fights with police. The number depends on who you ask: the French Interior Ministry counts around 550,000 protesters, the CGT union says there were 800,000. Around 1,200 people were arrested and more than 150 police officers injured.

Limoges got the worst of it. Masked protesters stormed the historic town hall, more than 140 years old, and set it on fire. The roof partly collapsed, and local authorities said a large part of the building was destroyed. In Marseille protesters smashed the doors of the city administration and wrecked the interior, leaving anarchist graffiti behind. In Lyon the tourist office building burned, and the shops around it were looted and smashed.

Paris was not spared either. Groups of protesters clashed with police, set cars on fire and smashed the windows of banks and luxury boutiques, and according to the media they also tried to break into the famous Galeries Lafayette department store. Police responded with tear gas and water cannon, and some streets were the scene of clashes for hours.

Then Washington stepped onto the stage. US Vice President JD Vance shared footage of the burning Limoges town hall on X and delivered his diagnosis: "Western liberals imported the Third World into France and other countries in the name of diversity and compassion. They ignored the fundamental questions of assimilation and compatibility. They were warned this would lead to violence like this, but they didn't listen." He added that he prays France will "stop this madness before more of its landmarks burn."

The protests, however, were against the cost of living. Vance jumped from prices straight to immigration, without a single piece of data on who the rioters were or why they were setting fires. What sells better from another continent - a complicated story about wages, bills and anger, or a ready-made culprit that fits the domestic campaign? Vance did not even hide it: further down the post he told Americans to watch out, because this, according to him, is the future Democrats in Congress want for the US too.

In Paris they are looking for the culprits at a different address. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu blamed the ultra-left and criminal groups and said the government will not allow political demands to be imposed by destruction. "To those who clearly want to use this violence as a warm-up for the presidential election, I say plainly: we will not let ourselves be intimidated," Lecornu wrote. President Emmanuel Macron announced criminal prosecution for anyone who destroyed property and looted town halls, and Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez claims the attacks were carried out by organised groups that hit several places at once to stretch the police thin.

No state of emergency was declared. The unions see anger over prices, the government sees extremists warming up for the election, and Washington sees migrants. Every version conveniently serves somebody's politics, while the people of Limoges are left with a burned-out town hall. How many times have we in the Balkans watched a street burn while everyone reads it to their own advantage?