Throughout the weekend, Jean-Luc Mélenchon and his radical-left party, La France Insoumise, criticized the French government‘s crisis management of the protests on Saturday, October 17, and the violence surrounding them. As peaceful demonstrations where LFI supporters again turned out in strength overlapped with violence and looting, LFI continued its strategy of direct confrontation with the authorities, even at the risk of deepening its rift with the rest of the political class and some voters who hold them responsible for the unrest.