French President Emmanuel Macron said he would not allow the violence that marked the protests at the end of last week to be repeated during demonstrations planned for the coming days. This was reported by Reuters, BTA reports.
Macron described as "stupid" and "unacceptable" the statements of some foreign leaders who commented on the causes of the unrest in France.
The National Union of Students (UNEF) called for new protests on Saturday. Meanwhile, the “Yellow Vests” movement, which gained significant popularity in 2018, has applied to hold a march through central Paris on October 24.
So far, efforts to contain social tensions have yielded no visible results. Negotiations between the government and unions have ended without an agreement, and union organizations have announced that they will continue the pressure. They are planning a general strike on November 5 against the high cost of living and cuts in public services.
On October 17, France experienced some of the worst street unrest in recent years. The public reaction was prompted by both the scale of the protests and the apparent difficulties for the police to control the demonstrators.
Macron announced that he would meet with intelligence officials, Prime Minister Sebastien Le Corneille and relevant ministers tomorrow to discuss the crisis.
“Those who want to cause unrest in city centers on Saturday will be stopped,“ the French president told reporters during his visit to Qatar. He arrived in the Arab country to negotiate energy deals related to France's efforts to control rising fuel prices.
The French head of state also accused some foreign leaders of spreading disinformation about what was happening in the country.
US President Donald Trump said that immigrants and radical Islam were responsible for the violence, without providing evidence to support his claims. He also pointed to the turmoil in France as a warning to Americans.
Macron said today that some foreign politicians were trying to profit at France's expense.
“Foreign disinformation subsequently emerged, which prompted comments that were as unacceptable as they were stupid, from many people, including foreign leaders,“, he added.