French President Emmanuel Macron has condemned the violence, looting and vandalism that erupted during cost-of-living protests across France. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu held crisis talks on Monday, calling for partial curfews and raising the possibility of a state of emergency.
In a televised address, Macron criticised those responsible for the destruction, questioning how such violence could take place in French cities.
“Looking at these images, we have all asked ourselves: what was going through their minds? How can French people do this to France?” Macron said. “Nothing justifies it, nothing explains it, nothing excuses it. Tonight, we all feel anger and shame.”
On Monday, he rejected an offer to resign by his Interior Minister Laurent Nunez, the Elysee presidential office said on Monday. Macron said Nunez should stay to ensure a chain of command is retained within the police and security forces, and has also asked Nunez to set up as quickly as possible new approaches to deal with looters, the Elysee added.
French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu held a crisis meeting in Paris on Monday, 19 October, following a weekend of violent protests and rioting across the country.
Lecornu said he had asked some local authorities to impose partial curfews to restore public order. He added that the government was prepared to declare a state of emergency if deemed necessary.
Despite the unrest and heightened security concerns, Lecornu said there were no plans to cancel Tuesday's football match between Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona.
The unrest comes as Macron enters the final six months of his presidency amid growing political, economic and social pressures.
He said he had ordered a review to assess whether intelligence failures or inadequate police preparations had contributed to the violence that broke out during the demonstrations on Saturday.
He also announced that prefects and mayors would be given the authority to ban certain gatherings where necessary to maintain public order.
While hundreds of thousands protested peacefully across France on Saturday, violent fringe groups targeted public buildings, looted luxury boutiques and supermarkets, and attacked police vehicles and officers.
Economy Minister Roland Lescure pledged support on Sunday for business owners who suffered losses. “Those who break things will pay, repair the damage and be held accountable for their intention to sow chaos,” Lescure said in a statement.
French retailer Carrefour's CARR.PA CEO Alexandre Bompard told French broadcaster BFMTV that 50 of the company's shops had been damaged, including 20 that were looted, with losses from the damage running into the tens of millions of euros.
To address the broader crisis, Macron said he had instructed the government to bring together students, teachers, lawmakers, trade union representatives and business leaders this week to develop what he described as “concrete proposals”, without providing further details.
“We must sit around the table and build solutions together,” the French president said.
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