Le Pen presses order pitch after 2,000 French shops looted

Marine Le Pen pressed a security message after unrest that included more than 2,000 looted shops, The Guardian said in an Oct. 20 opinion commentary by Paul Taylor.

The looting figure compares with Atlas360’s Oct. 20 report that authorities counted more than 3,000 damaged businesses, underscoring the commercial damage as France moves toward a presidential election in six months.

Taylor, a senior visiting fellow at the European Policy Centre, said weekend violence in towns and cities had overtaken peaceful protests about schools, fuel prices and the cost of living. He said that shift may benefit Le Pen, the far-right, Eurosceptic and anti-immigration candidate, because her campaign stresses public order.

President Emmanuel Macron addressed the country on Sunday night and expressed “anger and shame” over the violence and the damage to France’s international image, according to the commentary. Taylor said Macron’s appeal for order and dialogue had limited force because he is widely disliked, including by some former supporters.

Le Pen released a video message with the French tricolour behind her and no EU flag visible, the commentary said. She said French people angry about “anarchic immigration” and living costs had not destroyed property, and that voters would have a chance in six months to choose “restored authority and security”.

The commentary said Macron’s minority government is trying to contain violence with selective curfews while also seeking to pass a mildly cost-cutting budget through a divided parliament. Taylor said investors had sold French stocks and bonds because of the violence and political instability.

Taylor said radical-left candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon had appeared to gain from earlier school, student and cost-of-living protests, while some opinion polls had put him ahead of centrist Edouard Philippe for second place. He said Mélenchon’s response to looting and attacks on police may cost him support among more moderate left-wing voters.

Taylor said Le Pen may face a different contest if France’s financial position becomes the campaign’s central issue, because economics is her weak spot. He said neither Philippe nor other centrist and centre-right rivals had energised the race so far.

Source: opinion commentary, The Guardian, Oct. 20, 2026