This is a list of incidents of

civil disorder Civil disorder, also known as civil disturbance, civil unrest, or social unrest is a situation arising from a mass act of civil disobedience (such as a demonstration, riot, strike, or unlawful assembly) in which law enforcement has difficulty ...

that have occurred France since the 13th century, including riots, strikes, violent labor disputes, minor insurrections, and other forms of civil unrest.

13th century

* 1229:

1229 University of Paris strike The University of Paris strike of 1229 was caused by the deaths of a number of students in punishing a student riot. The students protested with a "dispersion", or student strike, which lasted more than two years and led to a number of reforms of t ...

, riots at the University of Paris that resulted in a number of student deaths and reforms of the medieval university. * 1251: Shepherds' Crusade, attacks on monasteries, universities and Jews. * 1257: Revolt in Marseille * 1261: Revolt in Marseille * 1270: Tax revolt in Cahors * 1274: Revolt in

Limoges Limoges (, , ; oc, Lemòtges, locally ) is a city and Communes of France, commune, and the prefecture of the Haute-Vienne Departments of France, department in west-central France. It was the administrative capital of the former Limousin region ...

* 1276: Revolt in Limoges * 1281: Revolt in

Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine in northern France. It is the prefecture of the Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one of ...

* 1292: Tax revolt in Rouen

14th century

* 1307: Revolt in Paris * 1309:

Crusade of the Poor The Crusade of the Poor was an unauthorised military expedition—one of the so-called " popular crusades"—undertaken in the spring and summer of 1309 by members of the lower classes from England, Flanders, Brabant, northern France and the ...

in northern Europe and notably Picardy, Avignon and Marseille * 1320: Shepherds' Crusade, widespread violence in France and Aragon * 1338: Peasant revolt near Laon * 1347: Tax revolt in Rouen * 1351: Tax revolt in Rouen * 1358: Jacquerie peasant revolt in northern France * 1364: Peasant revolt near Toulouse * 1378–1384: Tuchin revolt in southern France * 1378–1382: Tax revolts across France, including the Harelle and Maillotins uprisings in Rouen and Paris

15th century

* 1407–1435: Armagnac–Burgundian Civil War ** 1413: Cabochien revolt in Paris * 1418: Revolt in Châlons-en-Champagne * 1440: Praguerie, a noble rebellion * 1465: League of the Public Weal, a noble rebellion * 1485–1488: Mad War, a noble rebellion

16th century

* 1505: Riot in

Nîmes Nîmes ( , ; oc, Nimes ; Latin: ''Nemausus'') is the prefecture of the Gard department in the Occitanie region of Southern France. Located between the Mediterranean Sea and Cévennes, the commune of Nîmes has an estimated population of 148,5 ...

* 1506: Riot in Carcassonne * 1507: Riot in Nevers * 1514: Tax revolt in Agen * 1516: Riot in Laval * 1519: Revolt in Libourne * 1521: Peasant revolt in

Lantriac Lantriac () is a commune in the Haute-Loire department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), ...

and Velay * 1521: Grain riots in Aix, Marseille and Tarascon * 1522: Revolt in Meaux * 1522: Grain riots in

Beauvais Beauvais ( , ; pcd, Bieuvais) is a city and commune in northern France, and prefecture of the Oise département, in the Hauts-de-France region, north of Paris. The commune of Beauvais had a population of 56,020 , making it the most populous ...

and Tours * 1523: Revolt of Captain Montélon in Ile-de-France * 1525: Riots in Romans * 1526: Riots in Dijon * 1526–1527: Peasant riots in Sarladais * 1528: Wine tax revolt in Bordeaux * 1529: in Lyon, riots in Dijon and

Troyes Troyes () is a commune and the capital of the department of Aube in the Grand Est region of north-central France. It is located on the Seine river about south-east of Paris. Troyes is situated within the Champagne wine region and is near to ...

* 1535: Riot in Foix * 1536: Peasant revolt in Provence, tax riot in Le Puy * 1537: Fighting between gendarmerie and commons in Albi * 1539: Gabelle salt tax revolt in Bordeaux, tax riot in Vermandois * 1539–1542: Strikes over printers' wages in Lyon and Paris * 1542: Gabelle revolt in La Rochelle, riots in Rouen and Tours * 1544: Revolt over taxes and religion in Saint-Maixent * 1545: Tax revolts and riots in Niort, Saintes, Périgueux, St Foy, Duras, Rouen and Comminges * 1545: Mérindol massacre * 1545–1546: Religious agitation across France * 1545–1547: Riots in Vitry over real estate speculation * 1548–1549: Revolt of the Pitauds in south-west France * 1552: Revolt in Nay * 1553: Riots in Le Puy * 1554: Peasant revolt in Normandy * 1560:

Amboise Conspiracy The Amboise conspiracy, also called Tumult of Amboise, was a failed attempt by a Huguenot faction in France to gain control over the young king Francis II and to reverse the policies of the current administration of Francis, Duke of Guise and Cha ...

, a failed attempt by Protestant nobles and ministers to seize the King. * 1560: Maligny Affair: an abortive Protestant uprising in the city of Lyon, backed by nobles and ministers including

John Calvin John Calvin (; frm, Jehan Cauvin; french: link=no, Jean Calvin ; 10 July 150927 May 1564) was a French theologian, pastor and reformer in Geneva during the Protestant Reformation. He was a principal figure in the development of the system ...

. * 1561: Saint Médard Riot, a violent religious action in Paris that saw a church seized and more than ten killed. * 1562–1598: French Wars of Religion ** 1562:

1562 Riots of Toulouse The 1562 Riots of Toulouse are a series of events (occurring largely in the span of a week) that pitted members of the Reformed Church of France (often called Huguenots) against members of the Roman Catholic Church in violent clashes that ended wi ...

, a series of events that pitted members of the Reformed Church of France (often called Huguenots) against members of the Roman Catholic Church in violent clashes that ended with the deaths of between 3,000–5,000 citizens of the French city of Toulouse. ** 1572:

St. Bartholomew's Day massacre The St. Bartholomew's Day massacre (french: Massacre de la Saint-Barthélemy) in 1572 was a targeted group of assassinations and a wave of Catholic mob violence, directed against the Huguenots (French Calvinist Protestants) during the French War ...

. ** 1588: Day of the barricades, an uprising by the radical Catholics against the more moderate Henry III. * 1593–1595:

Croquant rebellions The croquant rebellions ("Jacquerie des croquants" in French) were several peasant revolts that erupted in Limousin, Quercy, and Perigord (France) and that extended through the southeast of the country in the latter part of the 16th and beginning ...

in south-west France

17th century

* 1620: Battle of Ponts-de-Cé, a rebellion by

Marie de' Medici Marie de' Medici (french: link=no, Marie de Médicis, it, link=no, Maria de' Medici; 26 April 1575 – 3 July 1642) was Queen of France and Navarre as the second wife of King Henry IV of France of the House of Bourbon, and Regent of the Kingdom ...

is defeated by King Louis XIII. * 1620–1629: The Huguenot rebellions, a series of southern revolts in part led by Henri, Duke of Rohan in response to increasing reversals of the Edict of Nantes. * 1624: Peasant rebellion in Quercy * 1632: Battle of Castelnaudary, a rebellion by

Gaston, Duke of Orléans '' Monsieur'' Gaston, Duke of Orléans (Gaston Jean Baptiste; 24 April 1608 – 2 February 1660), was the third son of King Henry IV of France and his second wife, Marie de' Medici. As a son of the king, he was born a '' Fils de France''. He lat ...

is defeated by royal forces. * 1635–1637:

in south-west France * 1638–1642:

in south-west France * 1639:

Revolt of the va-nu-pieds The Revolt of the ''va-nu-pieds'' (, ''barefooted ones'') was a popular uprising in Normandy in 1639 following King Louis XIII's decision to set up the gabelle salt tax in Cotentin in place of the privilege of the quart-bouillon. Context The Nu-P ...

, a rebellion in Normandy * 1643:

in Rouergue * 1645: Tax revolt in

Montpellier Montpellier (, , ; oc, Montpelhièr ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of ...

* 1648–1653: The Fronde, a wave of revolts against the young Louis XIV. * 1650:

in Limousin * 1655–1657: Tardanizat rebellion in Guyenne * 1658: Sabotiers rebellion in Sologne * 1661–1662: Benauge rebellion in Guyenne * 1662: in Boulonnais * 1663–1665: Audijos rebellion * 1667–1668: Angelet revolt in Roussillon * 1670: Vivarais revolt * 1670–1674: Angelet revolt in Roussillon * 1675: Revolt of the papier timbré, a rebellion in Brittany * 1693–1694: Food riots during the * 1698: Food riots

18th century

Journée des Tuiles (Alexandre Debelle), Musée de la Révolution française - Vizille

* 1702–1710: Camisard Rebellion, a prolonged local guerrilla war by Protestants of the Cévennes region in the wake of the revocation of the Edict of Nantes by Louis XIV. * 1707:

in Quercy * 1709–1710: Food riots during the famine of 1709–1710 * 1718–1720: Pontcallec conspiracy, a rebellion in Brittany * 1725: Food riot in Paris * 1739–1740: Food riots * 1749: Food riots * 1752: Food riots * 1768: Food riots * 1770: Food riots * 1775: Flour War, a wave of riots in April to May 1775, that followed an increase in

grain A grain is a small, hard, dry fruit (caryopsis) – with or without an attached hull layer – harvested for human or animal consumption. A grain crop is a grain-producing plant. The two main types of commercial grain crops are cereals and legum ...

and

bread Bread is a staple food prepared from a dough of flour (usually wheat) and water, usually by baking. Throughout recorded history and around the world, it has been an important part of many cultures' diet. It is one of the oldest human-made f ...

prices, because police withheld grain from the royal stores in addition to poor harvests. * 1785: Food riots * 1786: in Lyon * 1788: Day of the Tiles in Grenoble * 1789–1799: French Revolution, a revolution that overthrew the monarchy, established a republic, experienced violent periods of political turmoil, and finally culminated in a dictatorship by Napoleon that forcibly brought many of its ideals to Western Europe.

19th century

* 1811–1812: Food riots * 1816–1817: Food riots * 1829–1830: Food riots * 1830: The July Revolution, which led to the abdication of Charles X and establishment of the July Monarchy under Louis Philippe I. * 1831:

Canut revolt The Canut revolts (french: Révolte des canuts) is the collective name for the major revolts by Lyonnais silk workers (french: canuts) which occurred in 1831, 1834 and 1848. They were among the first well-defined worker uprisings of the period k ...

in Lyon, violent demonstrations in Paris and other cities * 1832: The June Rebellion, an anti-monarchist insurrection of Parisian republicans on 5 and 6 June 1832. Legitimist insurrections and protests in the west and south. Food riots in the east and southwest. * 1834:

in Lyon * 1839: Coup attempt in Paris led by Louis Auguste Blanqui, Armand Barbès, Martin Bernard, and the Société des Saisons. * 1839–1840: Food riots * 1840: Strikes in Paris * 1841: Tax revolt in south-west France * 1845: Wool worker strikes in Lodève * 1846–1847: Food riots around Paris * 1848:

French Revolution of 1848 The French Revolution of 1848 (french: Révolution française de 1848), also known as the February Revolution (), was a brief period of civil unrest in France, in February 1848, that led to the collapse of the July Monarchy and the foundation ...

, street fighting in Paris resulting in the overthrow of the July Monarchy and proclamation of the French Second Republic. * 1848:

French demonstration of 15 May 1848 The French demonstration of 15 May 1848 was an event played out, mostly, in the streets of Paris. It was intended to reverse the results of a Second Republic election of deputies to the Constituent Assembly. It is difficult to say, with any prec ...

, an event played out in the streets of Paris that was intended to reverse the results of a Second Republic election of deputies to the Constituent Assembly. * 1848: The June Days uprising, an insurrection staged by Radical Republicans dissatisfied by the lack of social and class reform under the Second Republic. * 1849: Insurrections in Paris and Lyon * 1851:

1851 French coup d'état The Coup d'état of 2 December 1851 was a self-coup staged by Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte (later Napoleon III), at the time President of France under the Second Republic. Code-named Operation Rubicon and timed to coincide with the anniversary ...

* 1853–1854: Food riots * 1868: Food riots * 1869: Violent strikes in * 1871: Paris Commune, a radical socialist and revolutionary government that took power in the aftermath of the Franco-Prussian War and ruled Paris from 18 March to 28 May 1871. * 1880: Violent strikes * 1891–1894: Violent strikes and anarchist terrorism * 1893:

Massacre of Italians at Aigues-Mortes The Massacre of the Italians at Aigues-Mortes was a series of events on 16 and 17 August 1893, in Aigues-Mortes, France, which resulted in the deaths of immigrant Italian workers of the ''Compagnie des Salins du Midi'', at the hands of French vil ...

20th century

* 1900–1901: Violent strikes in Belfort and Marseille * 1906–1907: Violent strikes * 1907:

Revolt of the Languedoc winegrowers The Revolt of the Languedoc winegrowers was a mass movement in 1907 in Languedoc and the Pyrénées-Orientales of France that was repressed by the government of Georges Clemenceau. It was caused by a serious crisis in winemaking at the start of th ...

* 1908: Strikes in Nantes * 1910–1911:

Champagne Riots The Champagne Riots of 1910 and 1911 resulted from a series of problems faced by grape growers in the Champagne area of France. These included four years of disastrous crop losses, the infestation of the phylloxera louse (which destroyed of viney ...

, resulted from a series of problems faced by grape growers in the Champagne area of France. * 1919–1920: Violent strikes * 1921: Violence that broke out at the premiere of the play '' The Gas Heart''. * 1926: Bloody Sunday, political clashes that occurred in

Colmar Colmar (, ; Alsatian: ' ; German during 1871–1918 and 1940–1945: ') is a city and commune in the Haut-Rhin department and Grand Est region of north-eastern France. The third-largest commune in Alsace (after Strasbourg and Mulhouse), it is ...

, Alsace on August 22, 1926. * 1934: 6 February 1934 crisis, an anti-parliamentarist street demonstration in Paris organized by far-right leagues that culminated in a riot * 1936:

General strike A general strike refers to a strike action in which participants cease all economic activity, such as working, to strengthen the bargaining position of a trade union or achieve a common social or political goal. They are organised by large co ...

by one million workers * 1947:

1947 strikes in France The 1947 strikes in France were a series of insurrectionary labor actions against post-war wage stagnation and Western capitalism. The strikes first emerged as a spontaneous wave in late April at the nation's largest Renault factory. When the Fren ...

, a series of insurrectional strikes * 1958: May 1958 crisis in France * 1961: Algiers putsch of 1961 * 1968: May 1968 events in France, a volatile period of civil unrest that was punctuated by demonstrations and massive general strikes as well as the occupation of universities and factories across France. * 1979: Youths of North African origin rioted in the Lyon suburb of

Vaulx-en-Velin Vaulx-en-Velin () is a commune in the Metropolis of Lyon in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in eastern France. It is the third-largest suburb of the city of Lyon, and is located to its northeast, on the river Rhône. History The rivers, including ...

following an arrest of a local youth. Believed to be the first suburban riot in French history. * 1981:

Rodéo (riot) The rodéo was a technique of rioting that became popular in France beginning in 1981 that was often associated with youth of North African descent and the Les Minguettes area of Vénissieux, a Lyons suburb. Over the summer of 1981, 250 cars were s ...

, riots that consisted of stealing cars, driving them in tight circles, and ultimately burning them. * 1990: Rioting in

after a young man of Spanish origin was killed in a motorbike crash allegedly caused by police. * 1991: Violence broke out in Sartrouville after the fatal shooting of an Arab teenager by a supermarket security guard. * 1991: Rioting occurred in Mantes-la-Jolie after a policewoman and an Algerian man were killed. * 1992: Following the death of 18-year-old Mohamed Bahri in

at the hands of police, youths attacked the town's police station and burned cars. * 1995: Rioting in several eastern suburbs of Lyon following the police killing of terrorist

Khaled Kelkal Khaled Kelkal ( ar, خالد كلكال) (April 28, 1971 – September 29, 1995) was a French and Algerian terrorism, terrorist affiliated with the Armed Islamic Group of Algeria, GIA. He was involved in the 1995 Paris Metro bombing, 1995 terror ...

, a key organizer of the

1995 France bombings The 1995 France bombings were a series of attacks that targeted public transport systems in Paris and Lyon, as well as a school in Villeurbanne. They were carried out by the Armed Islamic Group of Algeria (GIA), who sought to expand the Algerian ...

* 1997: Rioting occurred in Dammarie-lès-Lys after 16-year-old Abdelkadher Bouziane was shot and killed by police and his 19-year-old friend wounded. * 1998: Two days of riots occurred in suburban Toulouse after 17-year-old Habib Muhammed was shot by police during a car theft.

21st century

* 2005:

2005 French riots The 2005 French riots (french: Émeutes de 2005 dans les Banlieues Françaises), was a three-week period of riots in the suburbs of Paris and other French cities, in October and November 2005. These riots involved youth in violent attacks, and t ...

, a series of riots that occurred in the suburbs of Paris and other French cities involving the burning of cars and public buildings at night. * 2006:

2006 youth protests in France The 2006 youth protests in France occurred throughout France during February, March, and April 2006 as a result of opposition to a measure set to deregulate labour. Young people were the primary participants in the protests as the bill would have ...

, riots resulting from opposition to a measure set to deregulate labour in France. * 2007:

2007 Villiers-le-Bel riots Riots in the Val-d'Oise department in France began on 26 November 2007, following the deaths of two teenagers (Moushin S., 15, and Larami S., 16), whose motorcycle collided with a police vehicle. The circumstances recalled those that precipitated ...

, riots in the Val-d'Oise department that began following the deaths of two teenagers whose motorcycle collided with a police vehicle. * 2007–09: 2007–09 university protests in France, protest movements resulting from several reform projects under Minister for Higher Education and Research Valérie Pécresse. * 2009:

2009 French riots A series of riots took place in July 2009 in France. On Bastille Day in the commune of Montreuil, an eastern suburb area of Paris, French youths set fire to 317 cars. Thirteen police officers were injured. On July 9, many youths started a protest ...

, a series of riots that occurred on Bastille Day (14 July) in the commune of Montreuil, an eastern suburb area of Paris. * 2012: Notre Dame-des Landes Communities from nearby towns prevent an airport from being built on Notre Dame-des Landes forest and agricultural fields. * 2013:

2013 Trappes riots Riots broke out in Trappes, a suburb (''banlieue'') of Paris, France, on 19 July 2013 after the police arrested a man who assaulted a police officer, who tried to check the identity of his wife wearing a Muslim veil on 18 July 2013. Background Fr ...

, riots that broke out after police arrested a man who assaulted a police officer who tried to check the identity of his wife wearing a Muslim veil * 2014:

2014 Sarcelles riots On Sunday, 20 July 2014, a pro-Palestinian protest against the Israeli ground invasion of Gaza degenerated into an antisemitic riot in Sarcelles, France. An illegal demonstration gathered about 500 persons (the police and organisers having simil ...

, a pro-Palestinian protest against the Israeli ground invasion of Gaza degenerated into an antisemitic riot in Sarcelles, France. * 2016: 2016 French taxi driver strike, a strike by taxi drivers in several major cities against Uber, included many road blockades, fires, overturned vehicles, and the blockade of roads leading to the two major airports in Paris. * 2016: Nuit debout, protests that grew out of opposition to proposed labor reforms. * 2017: Protests started following accusations a police officer anally raped a young black man with a baton. Anti-police protests continued well into March 2017 when migrants were met with resistance from Paris residents. * 2017: During May Day protests in Paris, a group of about 150 hooded demonstrators disrupted the march, throwing " Molotov cocktails, firebombs and other objects at the police near Place de la Bastille." These "violent protesters, who did not carry any union or election paraphernalia, appeared to be from the same fringe groups that have targeted anti-government protests in the past." Riot police responded with batons and tear gas. Six police officers were injured, two of them seriously, by petrol bombs. * 2018: Ongoing Yellow vests movement (French: Gilets jaunes protests) over dissatisfaction with wealth disparity and ongoing increases to fuel taxes. * 2022:

2022 Corsica unrest In March 2022, the island of Corsica, France, saw protests in response to a prison attack on nationalist leader Yvan Colonna. There were rallies in the main cities of Ajaccio, Calvi and Bastia that descended into violent clashes between poli ...

by Corsican nationalists in response to prison attack on Yvan Colonna * 2022:

2022 Paris shooting On 23 December 2022, a mass shooting occurred at three Kurdish locations in the 10th arrondissement of Paris, France. Three people were killed, and three others were wounded in and around a Kurdish cultural center on Rue d'Enghien. Investigato ...

, protests after the killing of three Kurds in Paris. * 2023:

2023 French pension reform strikes A series of protests began in France on 19 January 2023 with a demonstration of over one million people nationwide, organised by opponents of the 2023 French pension reform law, pension reform bill proposed by the Borne government to increase t ...

due to the planned raise in retirement age from 62 to 64 years old. * 2023:

Nahel Merzouk protests A series of riots in France began on 27 June 2023 following the Killing of Nahel Merzouk, fatal shooting of Nahel Merzouk in an encounter with two police officers in Nanterre, a suburb of Paris. Residents started a protest outside the police hea ...

and unrest after the killing of a teenager by police near Paris.

References

{{reflist Incidents of civil unrest