PARIS (AP) — In France, the bill for a riot could soon be paid from a family’s housing aid.
uncertain
bill → pay → aid
Some people in a violent crowd could be made to pay for windows they never broke.
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they → make → windows
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 billion euros ($1.1 billion).
asserted
protests → approve → euros
In one weekend, police arrested nearly 2,400 people; authorities say thousands of shops were looted or damaged.
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thousands → arrest → shops
Fire gutted Limoges’ 19th-century city hall.
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Fire → gutte → hall
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.
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that → reach → streets
Spanish fact-checker Maldita.es has found calls for Halloween protests in 46 cities in at least nine European countries.
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Maldita.es → find → countries
Some urge looting.
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Some → urge → looting
Officials say the aim is to prevent the next riot and pay for the last.
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aim → say → last
Critics warn that widening responsibility could punish people who committed no violence and make others afraid to protest.
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others → warn → violence
‘Rioters pay’
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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.
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others → join → what
So could anyone who knowingly stays after police order a violent crowd to disperse, for damage done afterward.
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police → stay → damage
Collecting is the hard part, a Senate report says: Offenders often have little money, or income the law protects from seizure.
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law → say → seizure
The bill would open another source: money the state pays to help families live.
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families → open → source
French law already generally holds parents liable for damage caused by their children under 18.
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parents → hold → 18
Under the bill, once a court ruling is final, the money could be deducted from family allowances and housing aid.
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money → deduct → allowances
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.
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families → add → supplies
A minimum amount would remain protected for living expenses.
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amount → remain → expenses
Communist Sen. Fabien Gay cited monthly deductions of 57 euros ($63) from a household receiving RSA.
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Gay → cite → RSA
At that rate, repaying 10,000 euros would take nearly 15 years.
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repaying → repay → years
Supporters say victims deserve compensation and taxpayers shouldn’t carry the cost.
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taxpayers → say → cost
One large shop window can cost tens of thousands of euros to replace.
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window → cost → euros
After riots in 2023, insurers paid 793 million euros ($888 million) on 16,400 claims, according to France Assureurs, the insurers’ federation.
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insurers → pay → Assureurs
Human rights groups urged lawmakers to reject the bill, warning it could discourage peaceful protest and hurt families who depend on benefits.
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who → urge → benefits
Seizing those payments “could have disastrous consequences for the poorest,” Nathalie Godard of Amnesty International France said in a statement.
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Godard → seize → statement
The far right backed the bill in the conservative-led Senate.
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right → back → Senate
Next comes the National Assembly, where no bloc has a majority.
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bloc → come → majority
Seizing rioters’ benefits was long an idea of Marine Le Pen, leader of the far-right National Rally party.
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Seizing → seize → party
Now the government has made it its own, and she leads the polls for next spring’s presidential election.
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she → make → election
A French word travels the border
French students call a protest that shuts their school a “blocus,” or blockade.
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that → travel → school
In Barcelona, it became a hashtag.
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it → become → Barcelona
TikTok posts under the tag called people to Catalonia Square on Saturday, Oct. 24, and QR codes sent them to WhatsApp or Telegram channels, Catalonia’s interior chief, Núria Parlon, told Cadena SER radio.
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chief → call → radio
There was no route, Parlon said.
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Parlon → be → ?
When police arrived, the looters scattered, said an AP journalist who was at the scene.
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who → arrive → scene
Police reported 130 arrests, including 76 minors, according to Spanish news agency EFE.
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Police → report → EFE
Some TikTok accounts promoting the gatherings disappeared, while others advertised new Halloween protests, Maldita.es reported.
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Maldita.es → promote → protests
In one Telegram group, messages urged people to wear masks and gloves and wait to be told of a shop “without police.”
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messages → urge → police
‘You break it, you pay’
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you → break → it
In Italy, the argument starts with another family.
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argument → start → family
…and 23 more, not listed.
The Aporia
