Canada

Au Canada, Saturday, October 17, is being treated by the English-language press as a public order earthquake. The Globe and Mail describes "the worst episode of violence the country has seen in years": organizers claim 800,000 protesters, authorities 550,000, and most of the marches remained peaceful. The toll varies depending on the articles: at least 1,800 arrests for The Globe and Mail and the National Post, around 2,000 for another Globe article, nearly 2,400 for Global News and a second National Post article, which mentions almost 1,000 police and gendarmes injured, compared to over 500 in the initial dispatches.

The story opens with concrete scenes. Aline Li, owner of the La Barrique restaurant near the Place de la République, saw her establishment looted and then set on fire: "It's the end for me," she says. In Limoges, the 19th-century city hall partially collapsed; Prefect Maurice Barate speaks of an arson attack committed by "a savage horde". In Paris, the police report a "record" number of 855 arrests, and Deputy Mayor Lamia El Aaraje mentions a level of violence never seen before.

The Sunday evening speech is reported almost in its entirety. Emmanuel Macron states: "We all feel anger and shame tonight", denounces "insurrectional elements" from the far left joined by many delinquents, and affirms that "those who destroyed must pay". He instructs the prefects to work with the mayors to protect public buildings, including by banning gatherings, and orders an investigation into police intelligence. The National Post notes that he announced neither a state of emergency nor a curfew.

Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez distinguishes the fundamental right to demonstrate from the collective disorder sown by violence. On Sunday, the police used tear gas and stun grenades on the Place de la République, and clashes erupted in Lyon. The National Post puts the episode into the political calendar: Emmanuel Macron is in his final months of power, six months away from the presidential election, after weeks of sometimes violent high school mobilization. The demands regarding the cost of living and the state of schools remain in the background of the story.