Pakistan, Oct. 19 -- More than 1,800 people have been arrested across France following Saturday's violent protests, which left a historic town hall in Limoges gutted by fire, hundreds of shops looted and several cities counting their losses. Around 1,500 businesses suffered damage estimated at hundreds of millions of euros, while some 500 police officers, firefighters and paramedics were injured. The scale of destruction has placed President Emmanuel Macron's government under fresh pressure, barely six months before France elects his successor.

The violence, however, tells only part of the story. Between 550,000 and 800,000 people reportedly joined demonstrations over rising living costs, deteriorating public services and education cuts....