French Police Lost Control as Riots Overwhelmed Cities
France’s interior minister acknowledged that police lost control in several cities after weekend protests exceeded intelligence estimates. Prime Minister…
More than 500,000 people took part in protests across France, far above the number intelligence had anticipated. The interior minister said French police lost control in some cities during violent weekend unrest, prompting the government to consider local curfews and review security planning.
Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said Monday he had asked regional authorities to impose “local and partial” curfews if needed. A nationwide or full-city curfew was not planned, he said after an emergency cabinet meeting.
The acknowledgement carries immediate consequences for residents and businesses in affected areas: authorities may restrict movement in specific localities, while police operations and security arrangements are being reassessed. Lecornu did not identify which cities might face curfews or specify how they would work.
“There was a lack of anticipation,” Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said, describing preparations for Saturday’s protests. He said police numbers were at times insufficient to handle rioters and looters operating on the edges of demonstrations.
Intelligence assessments had forecast 200,000 demonstrators nationwide. More than 500,000 turned out, Nuñez said, and peaceful protests were hijacked as violence spread. He said 60,000 police and other security forces had been deployed, but the force was not enough to control determined and organised groups in cities including Paris, Marseille and Lyon.
Security review after looting and arrests
Nuñez offered his resignation to President Emmanuel Macron, saying he felt “responsible for everything that happened”. Macron rejected it and instructed the minister to take steps to ensure transparency over planning and intelligence failures.
Macron’s office said Nuñez had also been tasked with promptly introducing new operational methods for security forces confronting rioters. Lecornu said a state of emergency could be declared if necessary, but that partial curfews appeared more appropriate at this stage.
The scale of the damage was extensive. Authorities said public buildings, including a town hall, were attacked and set ablaze, while an estimated 2,000 shops were ransacked and looted. Nearly 2,400 people were arrested, 70% of them adults, and almost 1,000 police officers and gendarmes were injured.
“You couldn’t look shopkeepers in the eye after hundreds of shops had been looted and say we hadn’t lost control,” Nuñez told French radio. He also said the actions of rioters, looters and ultra-left militants should not be overlooked.
Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin said intelligence failures had left the state vulnerable. He said many of those arrested had police records and that “about 80%” were being prosecuted.
Paris Mayor Emmanuel Grégoire said about 30 shops were targeted in the capital on Sunday and a further 350 people were arrested overnight. He said responsibility for maintaining public order rested with the state and argued that the protests were continuing without a constructive political way out.
The unrest follows weeks of demonstrations by high school students, some marked by violent clashes with police. The protests have shaken France six months before a presidential election and amid mounting economic pressures.
Marseille Mayor Benoît Payan said the unrest had undermined not only democracy but “the very foundations of the Republic”.
Source: theguardian.com
