Heavy-handed policing cannot contain French anger rooted in betrayal; repression will only delay the next explosion
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/profile/oliver-haynes. "I saw rioting, looting, above all, anger. If French leaders think more violence will solve this, they’re mistaken | Oliver Haynes | The Guardian." October 18, 2026. www.theguardian.com
The Gist
The author watched a mostly peaceful mass protest in Paris turn violent after police used teargas and stun grenades. He argues that the anger comes from a deep sense of betrayal over living costs and government policy, so force can only delay the next blow-up, not stop it.
Conclusion
If French leaders believe that more force and repression will resolve the unrest, they are mistaken. Policing alone can only postpone, not prevent, further outbursts so long as the government continues its policies unchanged.
Premises
- The protests drew a broad cross-section of French society (workers, students, pensioners, ethnic minorities, union members) motivated by concrete grievances such as the cost of living, record petrol prices, and underfunded public schools.
- Most of the 550,000 to 800,000 protesters were entirely peaceful, and the violence was concentrated among a minority of black bloc activists, opportunistic young men, and furious individuals.
- Police tactics, including indiscriminate teargas and stun grenades and a reported incident in which a grenade blew off a 15-year-old's hand, escalated tensions and provoked the chaos, while panicking peaceful crowds.
- The dominant emotions among protesters were fear, rage, and a sense of betrayal by those in power, which unites otherwise diverse participants.
- Past French protest movements, including those with radical fringes willing to set fires, have successfully rebuffed neoliberal reforms, which encourages the belief that disruption works.
- The government appears determined to continue its budget unimpeded, leaving the underlying grievances unaddressed.
Assumptions
- The underlying grievances (cost of living, public funding, distrust of government) are legitimate and will persist unless policy changes.
- Repressive policing deepens anger and mobilisation rather than deterring protest.
- Teargas and force address only the visible symptoms of unrest, not its causes.
- The author's on-the-ground observations at one Paris location are representative of the wider national protests.
- Past episodes in which disruption coincided with policy retreat indicate that protesters have reason to expect violence to pay off.
- A government that ignores the grievances will inevitably face renewed unrest.