French MPs back riot inquiry as blame dispute widens

French MPs have voted to give a parliamentary committee powers to investigate the violence that accompanied nationwide demonstrations on 17 October — and how the authorities handled it. The inquiry will examine both the organisation of attacks and looting and the preparation, intelligence and policing of the protests. [3]

Hundreds of thousands marched over rising living costs and conditions in schools. Most demonstrators protested peacefully, but clashes, fires and looting broke out in several cities, including Paris and Limoges. The distinction matters as politicians argue over responsibility for the disorder. [4] [5]

Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu told the National Assembly on Tuesday that small far-left groups had planned what he called an “insurrectionary” pattern of violence *in some areas*. He said the government would produce evidence. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez also blamed far-left militants for attacks on police and shops. Neither account establishes that La France Insoumise (LFI), the left-wing party targeted in the political dispute, organised the attacks. LFI denies doing so. [2] [1]

There are reasons to resist a single explanation for all the damage. Police researcher Sebastian Roché told the Associated Press that the far-left fringe was too small and loosely organised to account for violence on this scale by itself. He distinguished activists’ usual targets from shops looted for goods; the BBC also described much of the looting as apparently opportunistic. That does not rule out far-left involvement in particular attacks. [7] [1]

LFI’s Jean-Luc Mélenchon called for calm and said supporters of his cause should not take part in looting. He accused Lecornu of allowing the situation to deteriorate, while LFI MP Manuel Bompard accused the government of manipulating intelligence to blame his party. Lecornu and Nuñez rejected the allegation about intelligence. The prime minister acknowledged that intelligence services had missed some developments and that the police deployment had been too static. Those admissions identify shortcomings, but do not establish that the government deliberately let violence unfold. [6] [2]

The law committee voted for inquiry powers on Tuesday. Parliamentary broadcaster LCP said the decision would become definitive unless an objection was lodged by 15:00 French time on Wednesday. Its work was expected to begin in the following days, leaving the central questions — who organised which attacks, and what went wrong in the response — still to be answered. [3]