PARIS — A hangover of sorts settled over France the morning after hundreds of thousands took to the streets on Saturday, October 17, to protest the rising cost of living, with demands spanning youth, public services and fuel prices. Yet within hours of the marches dispersing, an entirely different narrative had taken hold.
Since Saturday evening, dramatic images of flames, vandalism and looting have dominated political and media discourse — and spilled into family conversations, stirring tensions across generations. Three people shared their experiences with HuffPost.
Grandparents and the Evening News
On Sunday, Laura* woke to a text message from her grandfather mentioning “all those rioters.” The Parisian, who had joined the demonstration the day before, seized the opportunity to “educate” her grandparents during their weekly phone call.
“They get their information from TV news and only retained the rioters, not necessarily the demands,” she said with frustration. “My grandfather talked about riots — I corrected him, reminding him it was a demonstration.” Faced with their fear over the images, she tried to offer her firsthand account. “I tried to tell them it was only 1% of reality, that the march was peaceful, to explain why we were protesting.” She hopes she at least changed the impression her grandparents will keep of the mobilization.
Calming Fears Across the Country
A “headache” that echoed what Thibaut* experienced the same day with his in-laws. Spending the weekend in Marseille with his partner, they had a Saturday largely removed from the turmoil, mostly encountering people heading to demonstrate, signs in hand. But that evening, his partner’s parents wrote in panic. “They asked us to get back to them quickly, saying they were ‘very worried about us.’ We were at a party, didn’t really respond, and the next day we had messages full of question marks asking what was happening.”
The thirty-something tried to calm things down — primarily to reassure them, but also because he knows his in-laws are “fed” by far-right accounts on social media. “I wanted them to understand that what they saw doesn’t represent everything that was happening in Marseille, that the whole city hadn’t descended into chaos.”
The Trap of Focusing on Property Damage
None of those interviewed questioned that the looting and vandalism occurred. But addressing only the material damage rather than protesters’ demands angers those who share them. Antonin*, 33, grew irritated as early as Saturday when his husband’s mother, on the phone, began “talking about rioters everywhere.”
The conversation continued on the family WhatsApp group. “She talked about broken storefronts and my sister-in-law added that it was horrible. I replied that what I found horrible was young people losing their hands and teeth, retirees being tear-gassed while protesting. That we shouldn’t fall into the trap of focusing only on material damage.” What followed was a shouting match with his in-laws, who took him to task. “The responses I got at the end were that I was throwing hatred at them that they didn’t deserve.”
A Preview of 2027?
Tense conversations that feel like a preview of the presidential election for those interviewed. “I have a very good relationship with my grandparents and this is the first time I’ve lost patience with them, because in the end you find yourself facing a wall,” Laura sighed. “I was annoyed by my grandmother’s lack of investment — she says ‘We watch a bit of TV but then we turn it off, it’s too hard’ — when they have the time and ability to dig deeper. With 2027 approaching, it’s inevitably representative of many others who will vote with a very skewed version of the news.”
While Laura has no intention of raising the subject again, Antonin has decided to stop dodging these deeply political conversations. “Until now, I was somewhat avoidant. Generally I’d drop two or three facts, but without insisting.” But as the election approaches, he believes “talking about it is necessary, even essential. Even if it means falling out with people we care about. It’s a big source of anxiety, but I have no choice — I can’t stay silent.” And, he maintains, “this is only the beginning.”
