Thousands have been arrested. An estimated 6,000 cars have been burnt or destroyed. And countless shops have been looted or destroyed.
But even if order is fully restored in France in the coming days, civil unrest will surely only worsen in a country that is drowning in debt. And this time, President Macron won’t be able to buy off banlieues with yet another round of extra spending.
The riots won’t bankrupt France – but they will bring forward the moment of reckoning.
It remains to be seen whether the worst riots France has witnessed since 2005 have petered out, or whether the violence will return. One point is surely clear, however. The petrol bombs and Molotov cocktails will have inflicted huge damage on the French economy.
At the peak, 1,500 cars were being set alight each night, according to Ministry of the Interior data. Even on a “quiet” Sunday, the total was still running well into the hundreds. An estimated 500 buildings were subject to arson on Thursday night.
Early estimates from insurers suggest the damage could cost 100 million euros. But, of course, the overall bill will end up being far higher. Shops were boarded up over the weekend, even along the Champs-Élysées.
Night time curfews and travel restrictions will have damaged the restaurant trade. And in many countries, the UK included, governments issued travel advisory warnings, deterring visitors over the busy summer period.
This is significant: France is the world’s top tourist destination, where travel accounts for 10pc of GDP. The total cost of the current unrest will dwarf that of repairing a few shop windows.
And the timing could not have been worse. In the past, French governments have bought off bouts of civil violence with increases in public spending. After three weeks of riots in 2005, the last major eruption in the suburbs, Nicolas Sarkozy promised a “Marshall Plan” for the banlieues, with billions pledged towards better housing and transport.
After the gilets jaunes protests in 2019, President Macron slashed fuel taxes and ramped up benefits to buy off the mostly rural protestors. In the coming days, we can perhaps expect to hear about some big spending pledges to “fix” the crisis.