"This is not stupidity, this is hatred." Protesters Set Fire to a 19th-Century Town Hall in France. VIDEO

Hundreds of people watched as the fire destroyed the building, opened in 1883. Some were angry, others stood in despair. A city hall employee cried in the arms of a city official, AFP reports.

The fire started on the evening of October 17 after a demonstration, which, according to the prefect's estimate, involved about five thousand people. At approximately 5 PM, masked individuals smashed the windows of the town hall, broke inside, and set the building on fire. Before this, a municipal police car was burned nearby.

The fire spread through one of the wings and reached the wooden roof structures. Firefighters tried to prevent the flames from engulfing the entire building, but the tower above the roof collapsed. Extinguishing efforts were hampered by the wind.

"The roof collapsed onto the lower floors, with the exception of the west wing, and two-thirds of the facade are already gone," — announced Maurice Barret, the prefect of the Haute-Vienne department, in the evening.

At the time of the arson, city hall employees, deputies, and municipal police officers were inside. People managed to escape when the attackers broke into the building and threatened to kill them.

"This is not stupidity, this is hatred," — said the shocked mayor at a press conference. He called the attack a manifestation of hatred towards institutions and everything that embodies authority.

According to the prefect, several hundred people participated in the violence. After the town hall, the attackers targeted the prefecture, and looting of shops began in the city center. Four national police vehicles and two municipal police vehicles were burned or severely damaged.

Limoges Town Hall was a monument of late 19th-century architecture and art. It was opened on July 14, 1883, France's national holiday.

The town hall was designed by architect Charles-Alfred Leclerc, who also worked on the Palaces of Versailles and Trianon. The facades were adorned with sculptures and Venetian mosaics featuring portraits of famous natives of the city. Since 1975, the building has been on France's list of historical monuments.

Despite this, the town hall remained a part of the city's daily life: the municipal council worked here, and births, marriages, and deaths were registered.

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