The French riots started with typical left wing protesters that legitimately protest. Black bloc anarchists took advantage to skillfully attack police and other locations. As the protests dissipated, there were people everywhere, and it is hard for police to be everywhere at once. Once a level of chaos starts, young hoodlums realize they can get away with shit, and they come in to loot. They loot because they are poor, because looting is fun, and possibly because they are angry about something ideologically.
The protestors are mostly white, and so are the black bloc, but the hoodlums contain many minorities.
Many of these hoodlums were born in France. They were the children of immigrants, not recent immigrants. To the extent that they are angry, it is about historical oppression, failed integration, and anti-colonialist ideology.
The police were undermanned because they underestimated what would happen. A few weeks ago Paris had 15k cops when the Pope visited. For these protests, Paris had 5k.
The far right just want to blame recent immigration, which had nothing to do with the protest nor violence. The left wants to pretend like immigration and race played no role.
The level of crime, breaking into stores, breaking into residences, rioting, destruction…was really bad. Way worse than recent comparisons.
France needs to make serious fiscal cuts, but the people would likely rebel if they tried it…so the country is kind of fucked, and if a political solution is not found, eventually the bond market will sink France.