Access to the Louvre, the most visited museum in the world in the heart of Paris, was blocked this morning by protesters "in support" of the high school students' movement, according to the museum's management and the unions, who told Agence France Presse.

The protests continue after a nightmarish weekend, with over 2,000 shops looted, according to Alain Di Crescenzo, president of the French Confederation of Commerce, who reported damages amounting to hundreds of millions of euros.

350 people were arrested in Paris following the street clashes, bringing the total to 2,331 across the country: 70% of them were adults, often known to the police.

Marseille is among the cities hardest hit by the violence, and this morning Interior Minister Laurent Nunez issued a mea culpa: "The police lost control in some cities," he said, admitting a "lack of foresight" in his preparations. "I submitted my resignation to President Emmanuel Macron because I felt responsible for everything that happened, but Macron rejected it," he said.

"On Saturday, in some large cities, we couldn't look the shopkeepers in the eye after hundreds of stores had been looted and tell them we hadn't lost control," Nunez said. Nunez acknowledged a "lack of foresight" in the deployment of security forces, whose numbers were insufficient to manage the large crowds of rioters and looters on the fringes of the demonstrations. He estimated that around 60,000 law enforcement officers were deployed nationwide that day. "Given the damage caused, it was right for me to resign."

(Unioneonline)

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