Watch: Clean up begins after some of the worst disorder in France's modern history, but police remain Thunder and lightning have boomed across Marseille following the weekend's mayhem, illuminating the cracked windows and boarded-up doors of hundreds of businesses that were smashed as protests gave way to disorder. France's second city saw some of the worst violence as chaos gripped the country on Saturday.
Local business leaders say more than 500 premises were damaged, and the majority looted. A police union boss told the BBC that the weekend had been an "apocalyptic" hell for his colleagues. 118 officers were injured, representing more than a tenth of the national figure. So far, 101 arrests have been made in the port city, a quarter of them children. But by Monday, it was police who were most conspicuous on the city's streets, not protesters.
For eight hours, demonstrations and gatherings were banned in an effort to avoid a third consecutive day of disorder. It seemed to work; the largest central gathering we witnessed was a posse of weather-beaten tourists trudging around the quayside. Nonetheless, an overnight curfew for minors will come into force in parts of the city from Tuesday evening. Marseille is one of France's most ethnically diverse cities – a place where generations of new arrivals have landed.
18-year-old student Maryame only arrived in the southern city a few weeks ago, albeit from the countryside not too far away. "It was very scary because it's my first time in a big city, and also my first time demonstrating," she said. Maryam (R) joined the protests on Saturday, which began in September over poor school conditions before escalating to cover broader issues such as the cost of living