As arson, looting and destruction overwhelmed Rue Beaurepaire, some residents pleaded with rioters to stop. Others hid out of fear. Many dread a repeat.
The bar La Barrique on Rue Beaurepaire in Paris was set on fire during violence that grew out of protests on Oct. 17. Looting, burglary and other destruction also occurred on the three-block-long street.
After largely peaceful marches on Saturday, clashes broke out in the evening. But a large-scale police presence, 1,000 arrests and the rerouting of protest routes kept a lid on wholesale vandalism.
The Avant-Première preview of the Art Basel Paris fair attracted major collectors despite an escalation of anti-government protests, riots and looting across French cities.
The targeted restrictions are part of a state effort to reassert control after the country’s largest riots in years, as those arrested in the chaos face expedited trials.
The interior minister acknowledged that the police were underprepared for the scale of the riots. But Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu defended their efforts and pledged to restore order.
After anti-government protests devolved into chaos, leaders from across the political spectrum blamed one another for the unrest, even as it largely subsided on Sunday.
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