DOMINANT ANGLE
Ankara sees the French riots as a political test for Macron six months ahead of the election, between a record security balance and social demands from high school students and unions.
Dominant angle identified — does not reflect unanimity of this country’s media
KEY POINTS
- 01
Around 1,800 people arrested according to Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez, including a record 855 in Paris (Daily Sabah)
- 02
On Saturday, 110 demonstrations: 800,000 participants according to the unions, 550,000 according to the Interior Ministry (Bianet)
- 03
The government is accelerating the "casseurs-payeurs" bill and Didier Migaud is meeting with prosecutors general on October 19 (Bianet)
ANALYSIS
Ankara, October 18, 2026. Two Turkish media outlets, Daily Sabah and Bianet, are reporting on the riots that followed Saturday's October 17 mobilization day against the high cost of living. Daily Sabah speaks of the "worst riots in years": around 1,800 people arrested, a historic city hall set on fire in Limoges, businesses looted in Paris, Marseille, Bordeaux, Nice, and Strasbourg. The Interior Minister, Laurent Nuñez, gave an update on X on Sunday, ensuring that investigations are underway to identify and prosecute the perpetrators. In Paris, the police recorded a record 855 arrests, and Deputy Mayor Lamia El Aaraje mentions "a level of violence that we have, I think, never seen".
Daily Sabah places the issue at the level of the executive: the unrest increases pressure on Emmanuel Macron, in his final months in power before an election in six months. The newspaper details the recriminations: the centrist government and Marine Le Pen accuse the "ultra-left", while Jean-Luc Mélenchon, who supported the protests, called for avoiding looting, "contrary to our methods". Prefect Maurice Barate attributes the fire in Limoges to a "savage horde".
Bianet goes back to the origin of the movement: high school students demanding equality in education, which became a social movement of hundreds of thousands of people. On Saturday, the 110 demonstrations across the country brought together 800,000 people according to the unions, 550,000 according to the Interior Ministry; most of the processions took place peacefully. The site gives a heavier toll: more than 2,000 people in custody and more than 600 police officers, gendarmes, and firefighters injured. It details the government's response: Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu promises tougher sanctions, the government is accelerating the "casseurs-payeurs" bill, which aims to make the perpetrators pay for the damage, and the Keeper of the Seals is to meet with the general prosecutors on Monday, October 19.
Thus, the Turkish press mainly retains the domestic political dimension: a weakened France approaching the election, an executive responding with repression and law, and unions whose demands remain at the heart of the debate.
