A man has been arrested in France after a 19th century city hall was burned down during a weekend of mass unrest across the nation, according to French media.
The suspect, 40, is reportedly linked to a far-left movement and known for acts of violence against public officials and deemed a potential threat to national security, according to FranceInfo.
Dramatic video showed the clock tower and parts of the roof engulfed in flame in the central city of Limoges on Saturday as anti-government protests spawned acts of violence, vandalism and looting.
Justice minister Gerald Darmanin told CNews that 123 people held at the weekend were in detention awaiting trial. Around 2,500 remained in custody for questioning, he said.
Partial curfews have since been imposed in parts of Paris, Bordeaux, Lille, Lyon, Nice and Marseille to keep the streets quiet in areas worst-hit by rioting.
The neo-Renaissance building in Limoges – which survived both world wars – was severely damaged after rioters set it ablaze, causing its roof and clock tower to collapse.
The town’s mayor on Sunday threatened to resign along with his entire city council unless the French government commits to funding its full restoration.
“I want us to have the same capacity to rebuild as was given to Notre-Dame de Paris,” Guillaume Guérin told local media outlet Ici Limoges. “I want to see a rain of millions on the city.”
He accused the government of abandoning the city over the weekend and condemned the “insufficient” response from law enforcement.
“The problem is that by 3.30pm the police had run out of ammunition. Faced with them, the Republican police retreated,” Guérin said.
“If we’d had the means to contain them on the boulevard, they would never have made it this far. The government has abandoned us.”
For businesses and victims of violence, the government is implementing state-financed furlough measures to avoid layoffs, and providing funds to help companies meet cashflow needs. Insurers have promised speedy payouts to cover some of the damage, which hit more than 3,000 shops.
But France's extremely strained public finances mean the government has precious little room for broader measures to address protesters' anger over the rising cost of living.
The protests began last month at high schools in Paris' working-class northern suburbs, where anger over teacher shortages and shabby facilities evolved into a broader movement.
The government has so far not committed to substantial extra funding for schools but has pledged to send some 3,000 teachers, who are qualified but not yet working, to fill staffing gaps.
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