French riots and deep economic turmoil pave the way for a volatile 2027 election battle

• France faces major unrest, with nearly 2,400 arrests and 997 injured after looting and violence spread across Paris and other cities.
• The crisis began with student protests over poor school conditions, then grew as unions, farmers and fishermen joined over spending cuts and high fuel costs.
• The turmoil may reshape the 2027 election, boosting Marine Le Pen, while also opening space for Raphael Glucksmann against Jean-Luc Melenchon and President Macron.

BRUSSELS - The French government has established emergency ministerial committees to deal with the effects of the widespread looting and public damage in Paris and other key cities as the country experienced one of its worst bouts of civil disobedience in years.

Nearly 2,400 people were arrested during a frenzy of violence over the weekend, which also left 997 French police officers, paramilitary gendarmes, and firefighters injured. But despite a large-scale mobilisation, the law-and-order forces often appeared to be losing control of the streets to rampaging mobs of face-covered hooligans.