Disorder of magnitude: France’s riots

Over the weekend, French cities from Paris to Bordeaux to Marseille were hit by a wave of looting, arson, and clashes with police that Sophie Petter, The Economist's Paris bureau chief, described as "as bad as we've seen for a very long time." What began as relatively quiet student protests a few weeks ago escalated into scenes of "absolute devastation" that left authorities scrambling and the government facing a crisis of control just six months before a presidential election.

Three groups, one explosion

Petter, who was in Bordeaux on Saturday covering the riots, identified three distinct groups on the streets. The first were peaceful protesters—students who wanted to make their voices heard and worried things might turn violent. The second were known in France as casseurs, or troublemakers, who wear ski goggles and cover their heads completely, infiltrating protests specifically to cause destruction. The third group were looters, mostly teenagers who appeared opportunistic—Petter watched them smash into a Decathlon sports retailer and grab trainers and backpacks before running off. It was the latter two groups, she said, that made the violence so extreme.