French President Emmanuel Macron addressed the nation on Sunday, condemning the violence, looting and vandalism that erupted during cost-of-living protests on Saturday. He ordered a review of police preparedness and called for urgent talks to address the growing social unrest.
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.”
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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