France’s Senate approved the measure 229-105 this week, less than two weeks after cost-of-living protests spiraled into the country’s worst unrest in years, leading to estimated damage of over $1.1 billion. In one weekend, police arrested nearly 2,400 people; authorities say thousands of shops were looted or damaged.
France is not alone: Across Western Europe, governments are reaching past the rioters — to their parents, and to the apps that carry the call to the streets.
And it may not be over. Spanish fact-checker Maldita.es has found calls for Halloween protests in 46 cities in at least nine European countries. Some urge looting.
Officials say the aim is to prevent the next riot and pay for the last. Critics warn that widening responsibility could punish people who committed no violence and make others afraid to protest.
‘Rioters pay’
In France, anyone who knowingly joins a group preparing violence could be made to pay up to 10,000 euros ($11,200) for what others destroy. So could anyone who knowingly stays after police order a violent crowd to disperse, for damage done afterward.
Collecting is the hard part, a Senate report says: Offenders often have little money, or income the law protects from seizure.
The bill would open another source: money the state pays to help families live.
French law already generally holds parents liable for damage caused by their children under 18. Under the bill, once a court ruling is final, the money could be deducted from family allowances and housing aid. Senators added the RSA, France’s minimum-income benefit, worth up to about 650 euros ($730) a month for a single person, and even the back-to-school allowance families get for supplies. A minimum amount would remain protected for living expenses.
Communist Sen. Fabien Gay cited monthly deductions of 57 euros ($63) from a household receiving RSA. At that rate, repaying 10,000 euros would take nearly 15 years.
Supporters say victims deserve compensation and taxpayers shouldn’t carry the cost. One large shop window can cost tens of thousands of euros to replace. After riots in 2023, insurers paid 793 million euros ($888 million) on 16,400 claims, according to France Assureurs, the insurers’ federation.
