Vandalism at a protest in France: penalties and what follows

A smashed shop window, an overturned bus shelter, a burnt-out car: within minutes, a march can turn. For the person arrested, the bill comes later, before the criminal court. A lawyer explains what you risk in 20 minutes on Avocat20min.fr.

This article sets out, text by text, the penalties for vandalism at a protest in France, what paying for the damage costs and how a fast-track trial works. It relies on the French Penal Code and Code of Criminal Procedure in force on 23 October 2026. It does not judge anyone: it states what the law provides.

The basic rule: Article 322-1 of the Penal Code

French law punishes destroying, damaging or defacing property that belongs to someone else. The basic penalty reaches two years in prison and a €30,000 fine (Article 322-1, I).

This text is the starting point for any vandalism at a protest. It covers anything that is not yours: shop windows, street furniture, cars, signs, cash machines. The act must be deliberate. Damaging something by accident, for example by falling in a crush, is not this offence.

When the damage is only minor, the facts change category. They become a fifth-class petty offence, with a fine of up to €1,500 (Article R. 635-1). The judge can add 20 to 120 hours of community service.

An attempt counts as the act itself. Article 322-4 applies the same penalties to someone who tries to break something and fails.

Why vandalism at a protest costs more

In practice, vandalism at a protest almost always involves one or more aggravating circumstances. Article 322-3 then raises the penalty to five years in prison and a €75,000 fine. Three circumstances come up often in a march:

• acting as a group: the facts are committed by several people, as perpetrators or accomplices (1°);
• a hidden face: the person covers all or part of their face to avoid identification (7°);
• public property: the item serves a public purpose or public decoration and belongs to a public body or a body with a public service mission (8°), such as traffic lights, a station or a town hall.

Combining them makes things worse. Two circumstances together raise the penalty to seven years in prison and a €100,000 fine. Breaking things as a group while wearing a balaclava already adds up to two circumstances.

The same article also covers schools, educational or leisure facilities and vehicles carrying children: five years and €75,000. For a listed monument or a place of worship, Article 322-3-1 provides seven years and €100,000, then ten years and €150,000 for a group.

Graffiti and tags

Graffiti follows its own rules, as long as the damage stays minor. Drawing inscriptions, signs or pictures without permission on a façade, a vehicle, the road or street furniture means a €3,750 fine and community service (Article 322-1, II).

For a group or with a hidden face, the fine rises to €15,000, still with community service (Article 322-3). For simple graffiti, the law also allows a fixed criminal fine of €200 (€150 reduced, €450 increased). That procedure does not apply to minors (Article 495-17 of the Code of Criminal Procedure).

Be careful: paint that requires a full façade clean-up may no longer count as minor damage. The judge decides case by case, and the facts can then fall back under the offence in Article 322-1, I.

Arson: a different scale

Setting fire changes everything: vandalism at a protest by arson falls under another text. Destroying or damaging someone else's property by fire, explosives or any other means likely to endanger people carries ten years in prison and a €150,000 fine (Article 322-6).

A bin on fire at the foot of a building, a car set alight in a car park: whether people were in danger is often argued at the hearing. The penalties climb further, up to long prison terms tried as serious crimes, if the fire injures or kills someone.

Even without intent to destroy, a fire caused by carelessness carries one year in prison and a €15,000 fine (Article 322-5). Throwing a flare towards a vehicle is therefore far from harmless.

Joining a group preparing violence or damage

Article 222-14-2 punishes knowingly taking part in a group, even a temporary one, formed to prepare violence or damage, with one year in prison and a €15,000 fine. The law requires that this preparation shows through one or more physical acts.

This offence often forms the basis for arrests linked to vandalism at a protest, sometimes before anything has been broken. It does not punish simply being in a crowd. The Constitutional Council upheld it in 2010, stressing that the person's intent must be proven, together with physical acts they carried out or knew about (decision No. 2010-604 DC). A bag of projectiles, fire-starting material or messages planning damage can serve as evidence.

Related offences exist: covering your face without a legitimate reason in a protest where disorder occurs (one year and €15,000, Article 431-9-1), carrying a weapon at a protest (three years and €45,000, Article 431-10), staying in an unlawful gathering after the warnings to disperse (one year and €15,000, three years with a hidden face, Article 431-4). Our article on the rules for filming the police and face coverings covers this point.

Violence, group theft and looting

Vandalism at a protest sometimes comes with violence or theft, which carry their own penalties.

Violence. Violence causing no more than eight days of incapacity for work carries three years and a €45,000 fine when committed as a group or with a hidden face (Article 222-13). Against a police officer, a gendarme or a firefighter, Article 222-14-5 provides five years and €75,000, then seven years and €100,000 with a circumstance such as acting as a group.

Theft and looting. Theft by several people carries five years and €75,000 (Article 311-4). Looting a shop often combines the group, the damage that goes with the theft and sometimes a hidden face. Two circumstances raise the penalty to seven years and €100,000, three circumstances to ten years and €150,000.

Table of penalties for vandalism at a protest

The table below lists the maximum penalties set by the texts on 23 October 2026, for an adult.

Facts	Article	Maximum penalty
Damage, minor only	R. 635-1	€1,500 fine, community service possible
Graffiti, minor damage	322-1, II	€3,750 and community service
Graffiti as a group or with a hidden face	322-3	€15,000 and community service
Simple damage	322-1, I	2 years and €30,000
Damage with one circumstance (group, hidden face, public property)	322-3	5 years and €75,000
Damage with two circumstances	322-3	7 years and €100,000
Arson endangering people	322-6	10 years and €150,000
Group preparing violence or damage	222-14-2	1 year and €15,000
Hidden face at a protest with disorder	431-9-1	1 year and €15,000
Theft by several people	311-4	5 years and €75,000
Theft with three circumstances	311-4	10 years and €150,000

On top of these, the court can ban you from protesting on the public highway in certain places for up to three years (Articles 322-15 and 131-32-1). It can also ban you from carrying a weapon for up to five years.

What the court actually imposes

These figures are ceilings, not a price list. The court sets the sentence according to the circumstances of the offence, the offender's personality and their material, family and social situation (Article 132-1 of the Penal Code).

For vandalism at a protest, the judge has a wide range of options: a fine, a suspended sentence, a suspended sentence with probation, community service, a citizenship course, or prison, served or adjusted. A criminal record, the extent of the damage and behaviour at the hearing weigh heavily. We do not quote an average: no recent official statistics allow one to be given safely.

Community service deserves a word. It lasts 20 to 400 hours for an offence, for a local authority or an approved association (Article 131-8). It needs your consent, and the presiding judge must ask whether you accept it. It applies to people over 16 who were at least 13 at the time of the facts.

Paying for the damage: civil compensation

The criminal penalty does not settle the bill for vandalism at a protest. The owner of the property (a shopkeeper, a town, a transport company, a private individual) can claim compensation.

They do so by joining the case as a civil party before the criminal court, since a civil claim belongs to anyone who suffers harm directly caused by the offence (Article 2 of the Code of Criminal Procedure). They can also sue later in the civil courts.

Two rules make the bill heavy:

• joint liability: people convicted of the same offence are jointly liable for damages (Article 480-1). The victim can claim the whole amount from a single convicted person, who must then turn to the others;
• insurance: as a rule, an insurer does not cover damage caused by the policyholder's intentional fault (Article L. 113-1 of the Insurance Code). Breaking things on purpose often means paying out of your own pocket.

A shop window, a bus shelter or a burnt car quickly runs into thousands of euros. If the person responsible is a minor, the parents may have to pay: see our article on parental liability for damage caused by a minor.

From arrest to court: the fast-track trial

After vandalism at a protest, an arrest often leads to police custody. At the end of it, the public prosecutor decides what happens next: dropping the case, an alternative to prosecution, a later summons or a fast-track trial (comparution immédiate).

A fast-track trial requires a potential sentence of at least two years, or at least six months when the offence was caught in the act (Article 395 of the Code of Criminal Procedure). You then appear before the criminal court the same day, under escort.

You have one key right: the court can only try you that day with your consent, given in the presence of a lawyer (Article 397). If you refuse, the hearing takes place four to ten weeks later (Article 397-1). In the meantime, the court can release you, place you under judicial supervision or, in some cases, remand you in custody.

Agreeing to be tried at once may seem simpler. Yet the extra time often helps to gather evidence: videos, witnesses, proof of work or address. Your lawyer discusses this with you before the hearing.

For a minor, the procedure is entirely different. Our guide on a minor arrested at a protest explains it.

Criminal record and what follows

A conviction for vandalism at a protest goes on the criminal record. It can hamper access to some jobs, civil service exams or certain regulated professions. Our article on the criminal record after a protest explains what appears and how to ask for removal.

To protest without criminal risk, keep the basic rules in mind: stay with the declared march, do not cover your face without a legitimate reason, leave after the warnings to disperse. The full picture is in our article on the right to protest.

How a lawyer helps

Facing a prosecution for vandalism at a protest, a lawyer first checks the charge. A poorly proven aggravating circumstance, such as acting as a group or hiding your face, changes the maximum sentence. The lawyer examines the evidence: videos, police reports, how you were identified in a crowd.

They also prepare the discussion on the sentence and on the damages claimed. Legal aid (aide juridictionnelle) can cover their fees if your means are modest. A criminal law lawyer answers within 20 minutes.

The official service-public page on community service describes this penalty in detail.