Opinion polls conducted this year by Pew show that 69% of people in France are dissatisfied with democracy. At the same time, the country is struggling with spiralling public debt and government borrowing costs.
France's leading politicians have indulged in a festival of finger-pointing since Saturday following some of the worst unrest seen in French cities in modern history. Different theories are currently doing the rounds both in and outside France regarding the causes of the violence.
There is also a palpable frustration amongst many in France at what they see as the politicisation of Saturday's violence. France's interior minister admitted there were not enough officers on the streets, despite the nationwide protests being publicised well in advance.
The volatility on French streets funneled immediately into France's already febrile politics as the presidential election in six months' time remains hotly contested. There is widespread disagreement over what led to the clashes.
One resident remarked on the situation by stating, My friend thinks this is civil war in France but I don't.
A signature mark left on many buildings across France this weekend featured a capital A, circled in black, which was spray-painted extensively.
According to opinion polls conducted by this year by Pew, 69% of people in France are dissatisfied with democracy.
In France and beyond there is widespread disagreement over what led to some of the worst unrest seen in French cities in modern history.
It suggests the far-left political movement La France Insoumise (LFI) was relying on violence as an electoral strategy ahead of the 2027 presidential elections.