Lille: Damage to Lille town hall, briefly invaded, and shops "ransacked"

Protesters forced their way into several entrances to Lille City Hall on Saturday afternoon, and some managed to get inside and cause damage before quickly fleeing, AFP observed on the scene.

Moreover, according to the Socialist mayor of the city, Arnaud Deslandes, " businesses were ransacked ", including the Apple Store, in the city center, which was looted.

Shortly after the intrusion into the town hall, riot police entered the building to verify that no protesters remained. Access to the town hall is now protected by police.

Images taken by AFP inside show broken windows, overturned furniture and documents scattered on the floor.

"I strongly condemn these deeply revolting and intolerable acts," reacted Arnaud Deslandes on X.

"Fortunately, we have very little material damage and, most importantly, no injured officers," he added.

Rioters also smashed windows at Franklin College, a few meters from City Hall.

"Businesses have been ransacked," Mr. Deslandes also said, offering his "support" to the shopkeepers "in the face of these acts which are just as unacceptable" as the intrusion into the town hall.

The Apple Store in Lille was broken into and looted, AFP observed, seeing a man leave the store with a stolen computer, shouting with joy.

Violent clashes between several hundred protesters and riot police have been taking place since 2:00 PM in downtown Lille, with fireworks, paving stones and glass bottles being thrown at the police, who are responding with charges, tear gas and stun grenades.

A peaceful procession of demonstrators, delayed by clashes nearby, began to march around 3:00 PM.

The prefecture did not yet have figures to give on the scale of the demonstration and the damage in Lille.

AFP