Following days of riots, violence, arson, buildings destroyed and mass looting, French President Emmanuel Macron delivered a national address to the people of France. Remarkably, in the beginning of his remarks Macron says no one in the French government understands what is happening, but he is demanding an investigation.
A few paragraphs into the prepared transcript and Macron says high fuel prices driven by President Trump’s war against Iran, “a war we had nothing to do with,” is certainly the cause of the protests that have mysteriously turned violent for some unknown reason. Macron further notes those protests are righteous, justified and he agrees with them.
This is quite a remarkable address.
The image below represents the entire dynamic.
The Conservative Treehouse
My dear fellow citizens,I am addressing you this evening at a moment of extreme gravity, after what we experienced yesterday in many cities across France, both in mainland France and in our overseas territories.
Yesterday, Saturday 17 October, factious elements from ultra-left groups, joined by numerous delinquents, engaged in unbridled violence in our cities. Shops were looted, public buildings, stores and town halls were attacked, and some were destroyed. Several hundred police officers and gendarmes were injured.
Looking at these images, we all wondered: what is going through their minds? How can French people do this to France? Why burn down the town hall in Limoges, the tourist office in Lyon, invade the town hall in Marseille, or attack the prefect’s residence in Bordeaux? How can they come to this? Nothing justifies it, nothing explains it, nothing excuses it.
We all feel anger and shame this evening. Seeing the streets of our cities vandalised in this way is unbearable. On your behalf, I express the nation’s support for our law enforcement and internal security forces. They held firm and did their best. Our thoughts go out to the many injured and their families. I also express our support for all our mayors and elected officials. I want to express our support for the many shopkeepers, artisans and economic actors who have suffered the consequences of this violence and who are now in distress. Some defended their shops and windows themselves against the delinquents. I want to tell them that they will not be left alone to face these difficulties. The government will provide them with answers. Starting tomorrow, the Prime Minister will chair a crisis unit to mobilise the fastest possible aid and support those who are going through these very difficult times.
We must be clear-sighted. Yesterday, despite their professionalism, our law enforcement forces had to endure unprecedented violence in many cities, repeatedly. I have asked the government to draw every lesson in terms of intelligence and anticipation so that this cannot happen again. I expect clear answers, and full transparency will be provided. That is what I have asked of the Minister of the Interior. The investigations will be conducted with all the necessary diligence as quickly as possible, and the greatest firmness has been requested of the prosecutors by the Minister of Justice. Judicial follow-up must be exemplary. Our judges deliver justice in your name and they know what you expect. Every time offences are committed, they must give rise to appropriate judicial proceedings. Those who destroyed must pay. Those who looted must repay. Those who sought to bring down the Republic will have to answer for it.
We must also look lucidly at what is being expressed in the country. Yesterday, several hundred thousand of our fellow citizens demonstrated with the desire to voice legitimate demands. We must never confuse the latter with those who destroyed, smashed and looted. These demonstrators expressed concern about the cost of living and the price of fuel, which have their source in the conflict launched in the Persian Gulf, in which France has not taken part and of which we are suffering the consequences. I fully understand their concern. It is also being expressed in several other European capitals. In this regard, I have taken several initiatives at the international level to secure our fuel and gas supplies and to act on the energy markets. I will continue these actions starting tomorrow morning by travelling to the Gulf countries to secure our supplies. The Prime Minister and the government have also taken decisions in conjunction with fuel distributors so that these efforts are concretely reflected in prices. The government is doing its utmost to address this essential issue of purchasing power. I know that the French expect concrete results and we will continue to act.
For several weeks now, our youth have also been expressing a deep anxiety in secondary schools and universities. An anxiety about the future, about living and study conditions, about the ability to find one’s way, to project oneself, to find one’s place in society. The idea that there is somehow no desirable future. I understand our high-school students and university students. They have been at the heart of my political commitment for more than ten years. Their voice must be heard, without preconceptions and without minimising the difficulties. Work has already been undertaken by the government. The Minister of National Education has mobilised and set up a platform that has collected more than 100,000 contributions, in addition to the meetings held at the level of the academies and secondary schools. This will enable us to build appropriate responses with our youth.
Our responsibility is therefore twofold: to hear the anger and act on its causes, and to firmly uphold republican order. We must neither confuse legitimate demands with violence, nor allow violence to prevent those demands from being heard. That is why I want to set out a clear method this evening. First, in the current context, the prefects will take decisions in conjunction with the mayors to protect our cities, our public buildings and our shops, including by going so far as to ban certain gatherings when necessary and by taking every necessary action. Second, I call on all political parties, professional organisations and trade unions to condemn all violence without ambiguity and to call for calm. Everyone must take their responsibilities. The country needs order and appeasement, not escalation. The Prime Minister will bring these organisations together in the coming days in order to obtain clear and public positions.Third, we cannot ask our youth to believe in the future without giving them the opportunity to help build the responses and to be around the table. Yes, we need to sit down around the table and build solutions together. Pupils, students, teachers, representatives of employers’ and trade-union organisations, local authorities and parliamentarians will work with the government starting this week on concrete proposals. The Prime Minister will convene them in the coming days for this purpose.I want to be very clear here: with regard to the rioters and all those who engage in violence, we will be uncompromising. Listening and dialogue do not mean weakness or impunity. My dear fellow citizens, we are six months away from our presidential election. Six months. And so all those who today tell you that the urgent need is to take to the streets, to demonstrate, to create disorder, have only one aim: to damage the Republic and steal the debate. The choices for the future that you will have, that we will have to make in six months, are essential. France is a great democratic force. It deserves these debates. They must take place in public meetings. They must take place with the parties, and not in the street through violence. They must take place in the newspapers, on television sets, in peaceful gatherings where people speak and explain themselves with respect — never in disorder and destruction. Our country deserves a fine presidential election in six months. It is also being decided now, through a spirit of responsibility.
Yes to dialogue, yes to concrete short-term responses and to the preparation of future decisions. But always no to violence of any kind. We need unity, calm and respect.
Long live the Republic and long live France.
A few paragraphs into the prepared transcript and Macron says high fuel prices driven by President Trump’s war against Iran, “a war we had nothing to do with,” is certainly the cause of the protests that have mysteriously turned violent for some unknown reason. Macron further notes those protests are righteous, justified and he agrees with them.
This is quite a remarkable address.
The image below represents the entire dynamic.
The Conservative Treehouse
An 80-year-old couple was robbed by the rioters in Paris last night. They had their phones, wallets and clothes stolen. They were left humiliated in just their underwear. https://t.co/f8KpzzxUG8
— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) October 18, 2026
My dear fellow citizens,I am addressing you this evening at a moment of extreme gravity, after what we experienced yesterday in many cities across France, both in mainland France and in our overseas territories.
Yesterday, Saturday 17 October, factious elements from ultra-left groups, joined by numerous delinquents, engaged in unbridled violence in our cities. Shops were looted, public buildings, stores and town halls were attacked, and some were destroyed. Several hundred police officers and gendarmes were injured.
Looking at these images, we all wondered: what is going through their minds? How can French people do this to France? Why burn down the town hall in Limoges, the tourist office in Lyon, invade the town hall in Marseille, or attack the prefect’s residence in Bordeaux? How can they come to this? Nothing justifies it, nothing explains it, nothing excuses it.
We all feel anger and shame this evening. Seeing the streets of our cities vandalised in this way is unbearable. On your behalf, I express the nation’s support for our law enforcement and internal security forces. They held firm and did their best. Our thoughts go out to the many injured and their families. I also express our support for all our mayors and elected officials. I want to express our support for the many shopkeepers, artisans and economic actors who have suffered the consequences of this violence and who are now in distress. Some defended their shops and windows themselves against the delinquents. I want to tell them that they will not be left alone to face these difficulties. The government will provide them with answers. Starting tomorrow, the Prime Minister will chair a crisis unit to mobilise the fastest possible aid and support those who are going through these very difficult times.
We must be clear-sighted. Yesterday, despite their professionalism, our law enforcement forces had to endure unprecedented violence in many cities, repeatedly. I have asked the government to draw every lesson in terms of intelligence and anticipation so that this cannot happen again. I expect clear answers, and full transparency will be provided. That is what I have asked of the Minister of the Interior. The investigations will be conducted with all the necessary diligence as quickly as possible, and the greatest firmness has been requested of the prosecutors by the Minister of Justice. Judicial follow-up must be exemplary. Our judges deliver justice in your name and they know what you expect. Every time offences are committed, they must give rise to appropriate judicial proceedings. Those who destroyed must pay. Those who looted must repay. Those who sought to bring down the Republic will have to answer for it.
We must also look lucidly at what is being expressed in the country. Yesterday, several hundred thousand of our fellow citizens demonstrated with the desire to voice legitimate demands. We must never confuse the latter with those who destroyed, smashed and looted. These demonstrators expressed concern about the cost of living and the price of fuel, which have their source in the conflict launched in the Persian Gulf, in which France has not taken part and of which we are suffering the consequences. I fully understand their concern. It is also being expressed in several other European capitals. In this regard, I have taken several initiatives at the international level to secure our fuel and gas supplies and to act on the energy markets. I will continue these actions starting tomorrow morning by travelling to the Gulf countries to secure our supplies. The Prime Minister and the government have also taken decisions in conjunction with fuel distributors so that these efforts are concretely reflected in prices. The government is doing its utmost to address this essential issue of purchasing power. I know that the French expect concrete results and we will continue to act.
For several weeks now, our youth have also been expressing a deep anxiety in secondary schools and universities. An anxiety about the future, about living and study conditions, about the ability to find one’s way, to project oneself, to find one’s place in society. The idea that there is somehow no desirable future. I understand our high-school students and university students. They have been at the heart of my political commitment for more than ten years. Their voice must be heard, without preconceptions and without minimising the difficulties. Work has already been undertaken by the government. The Minister of National Education has mobilised and set up a platform that has collected more than 100,000 contributions, in addition to the meetings held at the level of the academies and secondary schools. This will enable us to build appropriate responses with our youth.
Our responsibility is therefore twofold: to hear the anger and act on its causes, and to firmly uphold republican order. We must neither confuse legitimate demands with violence, nor allow violence to prevent those demands from being heard. That is why I want to set out a clear method this evening. First, in the current context, the prefects will take decisions in conjunction with the mayors to protect our cities, our public buildings and our shops, including by going so far as to ban certain gatherings when necessary and by taking every necessary action. Second, I call on all political parties, professional organisations and trade unions to condemn all violence without ambiguity and to call for calm. Everyone must take their responsibilities. The country needs order and appeasement, not escalation. The Prime Minister will bring these organisations together in the coming days in order to obtain clear and public positions.Third, we cannot ask our youth to believe in the future without giving them the opportunity to help build the responses and to be around the table. Yes, we need to sit down around the table and build solutions together. Pupils, students, teachers, representatives of employers’ and trade-union organisations, local authorities and parliamentarians will work with the government starting this week on concrete proposals. The Prime Minister will convene them in the coming days for this purpose.I want to be very clear here: with regard to the rioters and all those who engage in violence, we will be uncompromising. Listening and dialogue do not mean weakness or impunity. My dear fellow citizens, we are six months away from our presidential election. Six months. And so all those who today tell you that the urgent need is to take to the streets, to demonstrate, to create disorder, have only one aim: to damage the Republic and steal the debate. The choices for the future that you will have, that we will have to make in six months, are essential. France is a great democratic force. It deserves these debates. They must take place in public meetings. They must take place with the parties, and not in the street through violence. They must take place in the newspapers, on television sets, in peaceful gatherings where people speak and explain themselves with respect — never in disorder and destruction. Our country deserves a fine presidential election in six months. It is also being decided now, through a spirit of responsibility.
Yes to dialogue, yes to concrete short-term responses and to the preparation of future decisions. But always no to violence of any kind. We need unity, calm and respect.
Long live the Republic and long live France.
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