Protests in France… A New Perspective

The unrest in France is expanding into clashes and renewed calls for protests. The causes of this anger run deep, while the state’s attempts to suppress them resemble the security-first, heavy-handed measures often seen in the developing world—where the security apparatus appears to be the primary tool relied upon to halt protests and demonstrations.

However, the roots of this public anger are intertwined across political, social, economic, and identity spheres. It represents a crisis between citizens and a state they view as falling short of their aspirations, increasingly incapable of meeting their basic needs, and openly biased toward specific privileged classes at the expense of others.

This state bias toward particular policies and elite groups has generated fierce resentment, drawing support from a growing array of social forces. This trajectory signals a period of instability that could threaten the future of the Fifth Republic, established under the constitution of October 4, 1958, introduced by President Charles de Gaulle.

A defining feature of the 2026 protest wave in France is the level of violence and destruction. It has seen episodes of rioting, store lootings, arson targeting commercial property, and damage to historical buildings. Over 1,500 institutions and retail stores have been looted, with informal estimates placing economic losses at roughly €200 billion.

State Bias and Socio-Economic Discontent

In truth, state favoritism toward specific policies and elite groups has been the primary driver behind France's recurring waves of unrest in recent years. As the French state has accelerated its neoliberal policies—embracing a diminished role for government in the economy, offering tax breaks to corporations and the wealthy, and reducing support for suburban residents and lower-income classes—it has systematically scaled back funding for public services and social welfare while cutting government spending. These structural shifts are central drivers of the current outrage.

In recent years, government-owned enterprises have been privatized, and amendments to French labor laws in 2017 made it easier for companies to lay off workers while altering working hours to favor corporate interests. Furthermore, eligibility rules for unemployment benefits were tightened, pressuring the unemployed to accept lower-paying jobs.

These changes coincided with clear state alignment with the wealthiest segments of society, highlighted by wealth tax cuts. Most notably, President Emmanuel Macron replaced the Solidarity Tax on Wealth (ISF) in 2018—a tax previously levied on individuals with a net worth above a certain threshold across all assets, including stocks, bonds, bank accounts, luxury vehicles, and real estate—with the Real Estate Wealth Tax (IFI). Because the new tax applied exclusively to real estate holdings, Macron earned the moniker "President of the Rich" following the fiscal reforms that benefited the affluent early in his tenure.

During the 2018 "Yellow Vests" movement—which erupted over proposed fuel tax hikes and led to three weeks of severe disruption and losses in Paris—the government temporarily suspended the tax for six months. Prime Minister Édouard Philippe stated that his administration was open to reviewing the tax if alternative solutions could be found that would not burden citizens' finances.

However, a revealing comment emerged during the crisis from Environment Minister François de Rugy, who recalled telling President Macron: "People feel there is a trick, that the measure is merely suspended only to return later." This reflected a broader perception that the government viewed these persistent protests not as legitimate political opposition, but as opposition to the French Republic itself.

Consequently, demands since the "Yellow Vests" movement have remained firmly grounded in socio-economic grievances reflecting deep divisions within French society. As a result, previous protests garnered widespread public support; according to a poll published by Libération at the time, 71% of French residents supported the Yellow Vests movement, while another poll revealed that 84% considered the protests justified.

The Marginalized Suburban Crisis and the Immigrant Question

The 2026 protest wave originated in schools across the northern suburbs of Paris—areas largely inhabited by working-class families and immigrant communities. The demonstrations began as a rejection of state neglect and the lack of educational investment in the future of these marginalized populations, even as elite neighborhoods continued to enjoy educational privileges.

This systemic bias—forcing economically disadvantaged and marginalized classes to bear the brunt of global developments, particularly the energy crisis stemming from turmoil in the Gulf region—has eroded purchasing power and intensified the burden of inflation and rising living costs.

Parallel to this shift, the state has relied predominantly on security apparatuses rather than political mechanisms to manage the unrest. This approach was captured by President Macron’s interaction with police officers in Marseille on October 17, where he remarked: "It is not normal for the country to live in such a state of disruption." His statement underscores that a security-centered approach remains the preferred, and perhaps primary, response available to Paris authorities as the presidential elections approach in six months.

A Hardline Security Response

The security strategy during these demonstrations has been firm, focusing on keeping protesters away from affluent neighborhoods, key commercial centers, and corporate headquarters. By containment and pushing protests to the periphery of marginalized suburbs, the state's actions have reinforced the perception that it prioritizes the protection of the wealthy elite.

Furthermore, the French government has introduced measures that critics argue further illustrate this bias. Among these is a proposed bill requiring individuals convicted of vandalism to pay up to €10,000 to compensate victims. Concerns have been raised that peaceful protesters could be swept up under this law. More critically, the proposal includes provisions to withhold social assistance from convicted individuals—or their guardians if the protesters are minors—a move that critics contend undermines the constitutional right to protest and raises serious questions about the future of civil liberties and human rights in France.

Compounding the crisis is the effort by the French far-right to push the state toward a harsher stance against immigrant communities. Figures such as Marine Le Pen, leader of the National Rally, have sought to redirect public focus away from demands for school funding and relief from the cost of living, framing the unrest instead around the demographic background of the demonstrators, many of whom are immigrants or descendants of immigrants.

The far-right asserts that the turmoil stems from a crisis of national identity caused by the failure of integration policies, attempting to draw a direct link between protests, civil unrest, and immigrant populations—a significant portion of whom are Muslim. This rhetoric is designed to pressure the government into passing stricter laws governing immigration, residency, and citizenship, exploiting President Macron's need for electoral backing ahead of the 2027 presidential election.

Through media channels, the far-right has increasingly sought to stigmatize third- and fourth-generation descendants of immigrants, portraying them as prone to violence and detached from French values and liberties. They contend that addressing the protests requires radical demographic restructuring of the suburbs through legislative changes to immigration and naturalization laws.

On October 25, 2026, Le Pen presented her party as the solution to France's crisis, directly linking public safety to immigration reform: "We will regain control of our borders and our immigration policy... France can no longer accept 500,000 legal immigrants annually, and we will systematically deport foreign offenders and criminals."