Author: Press Room
Major businesses and local shop owners are recovering from widespread looting across France on Saturday, after cost-of-living protests spiralled into scenes of violence that saw masked individuals force their way into stores and make off with goods. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT French authorities say shops were looted across cities including Lyon, Marseille, Bordeaux, Rennes, Strasbourg, Grenoble, Nice, and Limoges, as well as in the French capital, Paris. Among the targets were major supermarket chains including Carrefour, Franprix, and Monoprix, as well as luxury boutiques, bars, and vape shops. Groups of masked individuals, many dressed in black, paraded the streets, smashing windows and…
By Euronews Published on 18/10/2026 – 13:06 GMT+2•Updated 13:54 An oil terminal and a data centre belonging to the VK social networking service were reportedly among the targets of a drone attack on St Petersburg and the surrounding Leningrad region overnight into Sunday. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The attack is being described by Russian media as one of the largest on the area since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. One person was killed and 15 people were injured in the strikes, local officials said. A total of 144 drones were shot down over the Leningrad region, regional governor…
Between 550,000 and 800,000 people took to the streets of France on Saturday, mostly peacefully and often unaware of the unprecedented violence breaking out in some of the country’s major cities. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Limoges city hall went up in flames, as did the iconic tourist office on Place Bellecour in Lyon. Vandals also forced their way into town halls in Marseille, Lille, and Angers, whilst in Bordeaux, the prefect’s residence was ransacked. Widespread destruction “Scenes of insurrection,” reads the front page of Le Parisien. In Paris, Mayor Emmanuel Grégoire said “entire streets” had been “systematically devastated” after the French capital…
A branch of the tourist office in Lyon was vandalised and set on fire during nationwide protests over the cost of living. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Hooded individuals were seen tearing letters from the building’s sign and damaging the premises as flames spread along one side of the structure. Burning debris was later visible on Place Bellecour in front of the building. The demonstrations come amid growing pressure on President Emmanuel Macron’s government, following weeks of student protests that have at times turned violent.
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. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT 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…
Published on 17/10/2026 – 19:23 GMT+2 Masked Israeli settlers attacked a group of European diplomats on Saturday during a visit to the occupied West Bank on Saturday, Belgium’s foreign minister Maxime Prevot said. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The attackers targeted Belgium’s consul general, French and Polish diplomats and Catholic representatives in the village of Taybeh, 5 kilometres northeast of Jerusalem, according to Prevot. “A French mayor was assaulted and a Belgian vehicle damaged. Our team is safe,” Prevot said. He blamed what he called Israel’s “illegal settlement policy” for the attack and pledged to push for further European Union sanctions. Israeli authorities…
Published on 17/10/2026 – 19:29 GMT+2•Updated 20:52 Protesters in Brussels and Liege clashed with police on Saturday as a series of rallies turned violent across parts of Europe. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Video footage circulating on social media shows police firing water cannons and tear gas in an effort to break up people taking part in cost-of-living protests in the capital. In Brussels, officers fired tear gas against youths throwing bottles and other projectiles in the Bourse district, a journalist for the AFP news agency said, whilst water cannons were also reportedly used against smaller groups of demonstrators in the eastern city…
Published on 17/10/2026 – 20:11 GMT+2•Updated 20:47 Students and other protesters gathered outside the Ministry of Education in Tirana on Saturday as anti-government demonstrations entered their fifth consecutive day. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The protests, which have spread to cities across Albania, intensified after high school and university students joined a broader movement calling for Socialist Prime Minister Edi Rama’s resignation over allegations of corruption. The students are also demanding better education, greater financial support and improved job opportunities. The wider movement has been fuelled in part by opposition to a controversial luxury tourism development linked to Jared Kushner, US President Donald…
Published on 17/10/2026 – 21:59 GMT+2 Police and protesters clashed violently in Paris and other French cities on Saturday as half a million people marched against soaring inflation, with one demonstrator’s hand blown off, multiple blazes set and dozens of shops stripped bare by looters. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The widespread unrest follows weeks of student protests and deepens political uncertainty in France as it readies for elections in six months’ time to replace President Emmanuel Macron. “No room for violence in our Republic. Those who have broken, attacked the prefectures as well as businesses, looted even our town halls, will be…
A fire engulfed the historic town hall in Limoges, central France, after a group set the 143-year-old building alight amid unrest following nationwide cost-of-living protests. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Local prefect Maurice Barate said the roof had collapsed onto the lower floors, except for the west wing, and that around two-thirds of the building’s exterior had already disappeared. The blaze followed demonstrations that escalated into violence in several French cities on Saturday. The extent of the damage to the town hall was still being assessed.