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A 140-year-old town hall in France was largely destroyed as a fierce fire took hold on Saturday after masked protesters set the building alight, authorities said.
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Dramatic footage showed the spire of the Limoges town hall collapse as flames engulfed the roof overnight amid mass cost-of-living protests across the country.
According to the Haute-Vienne prefecture, rioters broke into the town hall at around 6 pm on Saturday before setting it ablaze.
“Firefighters from Haute-Vienne were immediately mobilised in large numbers to tackle the fire,” it said in a press release. “Limoges town hall, a heritage site and iconic landmark for everyone, was largely destroyed.”
The prefecture added that a number of businesses were then looted around the Rue Jean Jaurès area.
Maurice Barate, the prefect of Haute-Vienne, has strongly condemned the “arson attack” on the town hall as well as other incidents in the city on Saturday.
The prefecture said roughly 2,000 people – including “more than 500 individuals deliberately seeking confrontation” – had gathered at around 2 pm in the Casseaux area in the east of the city, with some attacking security forces with projectiles.
Four police officers sustained “more serious” injuries, and four police vehicles were destroyed, it said. The protesters then moved to block the A20 motorway before heading for the city centre.
Nineteen people have been detained by police in the region in relation to the protests, and investigations are continuing.
Construction on the Limoges town hall began in 1879, and the building was inaugurated on 14 July 1883.
“Protesting is a right, and anger deserves to be heard. Yet, no disagreement or grievance can ever justify the destruction of public property,” Guillaume Guérin, the mayor of Limoges, said, calling the violence “unacceptable.”
Violence sweeps France
Major cost-of-living protests taking place across France on Saturday turned violent in a number of parts of the country as demonstrators clashed with police.
The French Interior Ministry said around 550,000 people took part in the protests – which joined up with ongoing student demonstrations – nationwide, including roughly 110,000 in Paris.
In the capital, chaotic scenes saw widespread looting as officers fired tear gas and water cannons to disperse crowds. A Euronews crew were also assaulted by looters and rioters in Paris on Saturday, near the Place de la Republique, as they covered the ongoing demonstrations.
However, in other parts of the city, such as around the Boulevard de Clichy and Place de Clichy in the 18th arrondissement, the situation remained peaceful, another Euronews journalist reporting from the scene said.
Addressing the protests in a post on social media on Saturday evening, French President Emmanuel Macron said there was “no place for violence” in France.
“Those who have vandalised and attacked prefectures and shops alike, and even looted our town halls, will be prosecuted and punished,” he said.
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