'Shame', 'anger', 'chaos': Papers react to polarising riots in France

PRESS REVIEW – Monday, October 19: French and international papers discuss the anti-government protests that turned violent at the weekend and their aftermath across France. Many French papers are using the word "chaos" to describe the protests over the weekend. Le Parisien writes: "After the chaos, the anger". It says that on Sunday France woke up to destruction following the protests. The headline of left-wing paper Libération reads "Questioning chaos". Libération says that due to an inadequate law enforcement strategy that failed to anticipate the widespread vandalism and looting, the protests spiralled out of control, although hundreds of thousands of people were attempting to march peacefully. The headline of right-wing paper Le Figaro reads "Shame and anger". The paper says that all across France "unprecedented scenes of violence" took place, which are causing consternation. The headline of the Communist paper L'Humanité reads "Social explosion". The paper says that the day of protests was ruined by violence and vandalism, as well as by widespread police crackdowns on demonstrators. Catholic paper La Croix asks "How did we get here?" It says that the riots and looting are fue...