The city hall in Limoges, in central France, was set on fire on Saturday afternoon during a nationwide day of protests.
According to France 3 and other French media, part of a protest march broke into the building and started a fire on the ground floor, which spread quickly. Firefighters arrived shortly after 6 p.m. A witness told AFP the fire had reached one wing and the roof. Video shared by Denis Carreaux shows flames breaking through the roof as firefighters work from ladder trucks.
Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said police and gendarmes "faced violence of extreme intensity to protect our fellow citizens, and they deserve all our support."
What happened in Limoges
The day began peacefully. Protesters gathered in the morning at the La Valoine roundabout and Place Denis-Dussoubs.
By late afternoon it had changed. At the A20 motorway interchange, protesters fired fireworks at police, who answered with tear gas. A police car was set alight on a slip road.
Part of the march then moved to the city hall in the town centre. After the fire was set, shops nearby were looted. By evening, four police vehicles had been burned. The prefecture described a march of "several hundred" that had "exploded." Firefighters said there were injuries "on both sides," without giving a number.
What is not yet known: how badly the building is damaged, whether anyone was hurt in the fire, and whether anyone has been arrested for it.
A national day of protest
Limoges was the worst of a day of protests across France. Organisers claimed 800,000 people took part by evening; the government had not released its own count.
The movement started in mid-September at a high school in Créteil, outside Paris, over failing schools: crowded classrooms, teacher shortages, crumbling buildings. It has since widened into anger over living costs, wages, pensions and public services. On Saturday, unions including the CGT and former "yellow vest" activists joined the students.
Most marches were peaceful. Some were not:
- Paris: protesters threw fireworks at police at Place de la République and set a car and a newspaper kiosk on fire.
- Marseille: demonstrators reportedly broke into the town hall and looted shops.
- Lyon: a tourism office was reportedly set on fire.
By 3 p.m., the Interior Ministry said about 272 people had been arrested after incidents in Paris, Marseille, Rennes, Toulouse and Angers. It blamed the violence on the "ultra-left."
On Friday, President Emmanuel Macron said: "There is a constitutional right to protest and to express oneself."
What to watch
The damage to the building, which dates from the 1880s, once the fire is out.
Arrests and the final toll in Limoges, and nationally.
The government's response. Lecornu has backed the police. Whether he also offers anything to the students and unions will decide whether this was one bad Saturday or the start of something longer.
This is a developing story, published Saturday evening, October 17, 2026. Accounts of how the fire started come from French media and from authorities quoted by AFP; officials have not given a full account. Turnout figures are organisers' claims.
