Macron slams ‘unbridled’ violence as nearly 2,400 arrested in France unrest

Nevin Al Sukari - Sana'a - French Republican Security Corps stand in front of a fire in Faubourg du Temple street as clashes erupted at Place de la Republique following an unauthorised demonstration yesterday. — AFP pic

PARIS, Oct 19 — French President Emmanuel Macron yesterday slammed the “unbridled” violence that erupted in cost-of-living demonstrations across the country, as police battled protesters and looters in new clashes in Paris.

Nearly 2,400 people were arrested Saturday in unrest that represented some of the worst urban violence in France in years, with almost 1,000 police and gendarmes injured, seven seriously, the interior ministry said.

In an address to the nation, Macron said local authorities would be able to ban, “if necessary”, certain rallies in coming days. But he stopped short of announcing drastic measures, such as a state of emergency or curfew.

“Tonight, we all feel anger and shame,” Macron said of the devastation brought by the protests that included town halls burned down and hundreds of businesses looted or damaged.

“Looking at these images, we all asked ourselves: what is going through their minds? How can French people do this to France?” said Macron, who insisted there must be a distinction between protesters with “legitimate demands” and “those who destroyed, smashed, and looted”.

He vowed the authorities would be “uncompromising” towards the “agitators from ultra-left fringe groups, joined by numerous delinquents” who “unleashed unbridled violence in our cities”.

AFP journalists said police fired tear gas and stun grenades Sunday at hundreds of people gathered in a Paris square following social media calls for a gathering that authorities said had not been approved.

Bottles and rocks were hurled at police, who made 108 arrests across the city, according to authorities. At least five stores were looted around Republique square.

Other stores in central Paris also had windows smashed and the city hall told many to close. In the southeastern city of Lyon, police battled youths who attempted to loot a luxury clothing store.

Macron critics pounce

The unrest came just months before a presidential election where centrist Macron cannot stand again and Marine Le Pen, the far-right presidential candidate for the National Rally party, is riding high in the polls.

Le Pen said the troubles showed that Macron’s administration was “running on fumes, exhausted and disoriented”.

Jean-Luc Melenchon, head of the hard-left France Unbowed party, also running for president, warned that the country could be heading towards “events that will eventually become uncontrollable”.

Macron said “our country deserves a fine presidential election”, marked by debates “with the parties, rather than in the streets with violence”.

Saturday’s protests had seen unions, the anti-Macron Yellow Vests movement that rattled the early years of his presidency and school students, who had protested for the last weeks, join forces in a show of anger at the cost of living and prospects for young people.

With images of French town halls burning and shops being looted grabbing headlines around the world, US President Donald Trump waded into the debate, blaming immigration for the unrest.

“France is burning! The immigration of people from an entirely different world, people with hatred in their hearts, has shattered that once great country,” Trump said in a social media post.

All necessary lessons

Macron vowed that top officials would “make decisions in coordination with mayors to protect our cities, public buildings, and businesses”.

He said that businesses that suffered would be supported and vowed there would be “full transparency” over the response by security forces to the protests.

Some opposition politicians have already called for the sacking of Interior Minister Laurent Nunez.

Macron said he had asked Nunez to “draw all necessary lessons”, particularly with regard to intelligence gathering and anticipation, adding he expected “clear answers”.

“It’s like we had a war,” 78-year-old Paris resident Mehmet Ozeden told AFP amid burnt street barricades from Saturday’s protests.

The city of Limoges lost its 19th-century town hall to a fire that the local prefect, Maurice Barate, told news channel LCI had been deliberately set by “a wild horde”.

In Lyon, a tourist office in the city centre was set ablaze during the protests amid multiple clashes and looting.

A 17-year-old boy had his right hand blown off by a crowd-control grenade in the southern city of Saint-Etienne. In Mulhouse a 17-year-old girl lost an eye, according to prosecutors. — AFP