French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez admitted that police lost control during Saturday's protests, which began over rising cost of living but have escalated into some of the worst unrest in France in years. President Emmanuel Macron has rejected the minister's resignation, despite acknowledging security and intelligence failures.
About 500,000 people took part in demonstrations across the country. Shops and town halls were looted and set on fire on the fringes of the marches. Over 2,500 people were arrested and almost 1,000 security personnel were injured. There were also casualties among the protesters, with one demonstrator losing his arm after a stun grenade exploded.
“In some big cities, you couldn't look the merchants in the eye after hundreds of stores were looted and tell them we hadn't lost control,” said Núñez.Minister admits planning lapses
Núñez said that about 60,000 law enforcement officers were deployed across the country on Saturday, but their number was not enough to deal with the large groups that were rioting and looting. He also acknowledged a “lack of foresight” in the deployment of security forces.
“Given the damage caused, it was right for me to resign,“ the minister said.
The French presidency said Macron had rejected the resignation because of the need to continue leading the law enforcement agencies. Instead, the head of state had instructed Nunez to take all necessary steps to ensure transparency about the planning and intelligence failures that led to the violence.
Macron also called for the rapid introduction of new operational methods for security forces aimed at ending barricades and looting.
Violence continued on Sunday
Losing continued on Sunday. Paris Mayor Emmanuel Gregoire said about 30 shops had been attacked in the capital during the day, describing the incident as "intolerable". Nunez said about 350 people had been arrested in Paris on Sunday and overnight.
Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin said more than 2,330 people had been arrested across France over the weekend, about 70 percent of whom were adults. More than 2,000 shops were expected to be affected, with damage to businesses estimated at "hundreds of millions of euros", said Alain di Crecenzo, president of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
In a televised address, Macron condemned the "unbridled" violence and said local authorities could ban certain rallies in the coming days if necessary. The president did not declare a state of emergency or curfew.
Saturday's protests followed four weeks of demonstrations by high school students, which have also turned violent on several occasions.
Sources: france24.com