Fire guts Limoges City Hall as French protest violence spreads
What's new: The 1883 landmark's clock tower collapsed and officials warned large parts of the listed building were destroyed.
A fire set during unrest in Limoges tore through the city hall overnight, collapsing the clock tower and gutting much of the 19th-century landmark. Local officials described the damage as a heritage catastrophe after a masked crowd attacked the building during some of France's worst unrest in years. Mayor Guillaume Guerin said several hundred people smashed windows and forced the main door with a battering ram, while the local prefect, Maurice Barate, said the roof had fallen into lower floors, leaving only the west wing largely spared. Firefighters worked through the night as specialists checked whether the structure remained stable. The listed neo-Renaissance town hall opened in 1883 and was modeled on Paris City Hall.