French protest violence: A ‘Christmas present’ for Le Pen’s far right?

As massive protests swept through cities across France over the weekend, degenerating into riots in many places, far-right politician Marine Le Pen has attempted to profit from the crisis ahead of the presidential election in April 2027.

On Sunday, the leader of the National Rally party, or RN by its French initials, railed against President Emmanuel Macron’s handling of the crisis in a video statement, saying the outgoing centre-right leader no longer has any “credibility or authority” and that the country’s people were caught between his austerity “hammering” them on the one hand and “insurrectionary activists” on the left on the other.

School protests in France erupted on September 21 in a poor borough of Paris as pupils demonstrated against dilapidated infrastructure, teacher shortages and tight class schedules. The demonstrations quickly spread across the country and coincided with a nationwide public sector strike against the government’s plans to cut public spending.

Le Pen blamed the political left and “decades of immigration” to France for the looting and destruction that trailed the demonstrations, and presented her party as capable of restoring order — without offering any firm evidence to back up assertions that the rioting was led by immigrants.

The politician is already far ahead in recent polls, and some say she is likely to be the next leader. Here’s what we know:

What happened over the weekend?

Scenes of burned cars, vandalised and looted shops and defaced public buildings emerged from across France.

Some 550,000 people demonstrated on Saturday, according to the Ministry of the Interior, although protest organisers put the figure at 800,000. Protesters included students, union groups and supporters of the “yellow vests” movement, which protested against inflation back in 2018, at the start of Macron’s presidency.

Although most marched peacefully, masked groups attacked city halls in several cities on Saturday, including the 19th-century City Hall in the city of Limoges, which was badly damaged.

In Lyon, a tourist office was set ablaze.

In Marseille, hooded individuals attacked a police station. The city has since banned protests.

Looters also targeted hundreds of shops in several locations.

In Paris, storefronts were shattered and broken glass littered the Place de la Republique. The Marianne statue, an important symbol of France, was partially dismantled. Paris police said one person died of a heart attack, but did not provide more details.

Protesters and rights groups have accused police of using disproportionate force throughout the protests. Some 2,400 people were arrested by Sunday, officials said. Several police officers were injured.

In a national address, Macron condemned rioters and accused far-left groups of attacking police and public buildings. Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu said on Monday that partial curfews would be imposed in some areas.

How could the far right gain?

Peter McPhee, a professor emeritus at the University of Melbourne, described the protests as a “Christmas present” for Le Pen’s National Rally ahead of the presidential election.

Le Pen said in a video statement protesters have “legitimate social grievances” but that Macron’s government was “exhausted, disoriented and seemingly incapable” of addressing them.

She criticised the administration’s controversial budget plans and promised to free the French from “Macronist toxic policies” while failing to mention that her party has also proposed strict spending cuts to bring down rising public debt.

The politician, who is far ahead of other candidates in the polls, fuelled right-wing narratives spreading online that immigrants, not the French people, are instigating the protests, even as the grievances driving the agitation have intersected, with flag-carrying pro-Palestinian, environmental, feminist and anticolonial movements joining in.

McPhee called Le Pen’s move “profoundly worrying”.

“It is easy for Le Pen to make the link between the violent attacks on buildings and shops with African migrants because of the Palestinian and Algerian flags,” the professor said. “People in many parts of the world are attracted to simplistic, often racist, answers to economic and social problems.”

Analysts add that far-left leader Jean-Luc Melenchon of the France Unbowed party, or LFI, who has joined the protests, could also face backlash if anger grows over the destruction, further handing Le Pen a stronger platform.

How did the far right gain ground after previous protests?

Right-wing and centrist parties have historically gained after mass protests and disorder as people, fearing anarchy, vote for them.

In May 1968, similar student-led protests erupted after millions of students and striking workers rallied against poor schooling conditions, increasing economic inequalities and stagnant wages.

Left-wing communist and socialist political parties joined the protests and called for a revolution. Then-President Charles de Gaulle’s conservative government initially struggled to control the demonstrations, even escaping to a French base in West Germany for a few days as violence spiralled and the country ground to a standstill.

However, the protest soon lost momentum amid the shutdown of public services. De Gaulle dissolved parliament and called for snap elections in June 1968, blaming the left for the violence and promising to restore order. His conservative Union for the Defence of the Republic party went on to win in an astounding landslide while left-wing parties lost more than half their seats.

Again, during the 2018 “yellow vest” demonstrations, working-class protesters rallying against Macron’s government’s decision to raise taxes found support among Le Pen’s party, although the left wing also tried to ingratiate itself with the movement.

Many of the movement’s supporters ended up voting for Le Pen’s party in the 2022 legislative elections to punish the Macron government, a move that still shapes the deeply divided parliament.