Macron Mulls State of Emergency After Worst Unrest in Decades

Protesters wearing yellow vests, a symbol of a French drivers' protest against higher diesel taxes, at a demonstration on the Champs-Elysées in Paris, on Dec. 1, 2018. Stephane Mahe/Reuters

PARIS—President Emmanuel Macron considered declaring a state of emergency as he met security chiefs on Dec. 2, seeking a way out of nationwide protests after rioters turned central Paris into a battle zone and vandalized the Arc de Triomphe monument.

Riot police on Saturday were overwhelmed as protesters ran amok in Paris’s posh neighborhoods, torching dozens of cars, looting boutiques, and smashing up luxury private homes and cafes in the worst disturbances the capital has seen since 1968.