Chaos in France: Historic Building Burned Down and Shops ‘Smashed’ as 2,000 Rioters Arrested

Jarring footage out of France shows thousands of protesters and rioters looting businesses, attacking police officers, and burning buildings — including a historic town hall building in central France — this weekend.

Fox News correspondent Stephanie Bennett reported on the carnage on Sunday, revealing more than 600 cops have been injured and nearly 2,000 rioters were arrested between Saturday and Sunday. She reported “more than half a million people demonstrated across France,” from Paris in the North down to Marseilles in the South; one person died due to cardiac arrest during the chaos, she reported.

As she reported, Fox News aired clips of rioters setting cars ablaze, attacking businesses, and setting buildings on fire. One group of protesters could be seen holding up a barricade with “ACAB” — or “All Cops are Bastards” — scribbled on it. The most unsettling footage showed the 143-year-old town hall building in Limoges, a town about 215 miles south of Paris, burning down.

“Shocking images there,” Bennett said as viewers watched the burning building crumble.

The building is now considered “largely lost,” according to the local prefect.

“The roof has collapsed onto lower floors, except the west wing, and two-thirds of the exterior has already disappeared,” Maurice Barate, told the AFP news agency.

Bennett added the riots and protests, “Started with angry students protesting learning conditions, but they were soon joined by public workers, unions, and radical left-wing political groups, with fears of more nefarious actors being involved.”

In a televised address on Sunday, French President Emmanuel Macron said “nothing justifies” the “unbridled” violence.

“Tonight, we all feel anger and shame,” Macron said. He said some of the protesters have “legitimate demands,” but they are not the same as those who have “destroyed, smashed, and looted.”

He added, “Those who looted will have to pay back for the damage, and those who sought to bring down the Republic will be held accountable.”

Watch above via Fox Report on Jon Scott.

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