Masked rioters torched Limoges City Hall and looted stores after largely peaceful nationwide marches; France reports 1,800 arrests and more than 500 injured police, gendarmes and firefighters as the violence sparks a fierce political blame game

France was surveying scenes of devastation on Sunday after a day of nationwide protests against the soaring cost of living descended into widespread rioting, with masked groups looting hundreds of shops, setting public buildings ablaze and clashing with police. In the most dramatic incident, a historic city hall that had survived both world wars was largely destroyed by fire, its tower collapsing as flames engulfed the building.

The unrest erupted on Saturday, October 17, on the sidelines of demonstrations attended by hundreds of thousands of people across France. Although most marchers protested peacefully against rising prices, deteriorating public services and the cost of fuel, groups of masked rioters attacked police, vandalized businesses and set fires in cities including Paris, Marseille, Lyon, Lille and Bordeaux. The violence quickly became the focus of a fierce political confrontation, with French right-wing figures accusing the radical left of encouraging the unrest and others seeking to blame immigration.

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