The media are predictably focusing on the businesses that are being attacked and trying to frame this as if it’s a horde of animals with no political cause whatsoever who just want to loot stuff.
The catalyst for this event was a police shooting of a 17 year old, but the political backdrop is an absolutely massive amount of discontent between the working class of the country and the wealthy.
The things that are getting targeted are overwhelmingly icons of the rich, or literally the financial institutions themselves. Businesses seen as serving the rich are in particular targeted, such as iconic high-fashion stores.
Yesterday(friday) the figures were as follows, tonight(saturday) they have been worse:
250 bank branches were attacked last night. Some have been burned to the ground.
31 police stations were attack, some are completely burned out.
11 gendarmeries were attacked.
Socialist symbols, phrases and agitprop are the primary form of graffiti being tagged everywhere
This isn’t mindless. This rage is an explosion that has built up ever since the yellow vests fought for fuel, or the workers fought for their pensions, on a backdrop of increasing cost of living and declining standards. All the while the businesses, hedgefunds and financial institutions post record profits.
The French population has been fighting with the state for a number of years now, and each battle they have hardens them a little more, grants thousands of people actual experience in battle with the state, and then they take that experience into the next inevitable battle. Thousands go to prison each time, and these thousands eventually find their way back into the population where their time in prison now makes living in the current society impossible. They come out hardened by their experiences and ending the current society is literally in their best interests. If yet thousands more get added to that total, things will continue to escalate in France, year on year, there will be more catalysts and the number of radicals will rise and rise.