By Sumayya
French President Emmanuel Macron has spoken out against what he called “out of control” violence as new fights and stealing broke out in Paris and other areas, a day after nearly 2,400 people were caught by police and almost 1,000 police officers and security forces were hurt in some of the country’s worst city riots in years.
In a talk to the country on Sunday, Macron promised to make security stronger and check the police actions, but he did not announce extreme steps like a state of emergency or a night-time curfew. “Tonight, we all feel angry and ashamed,” Macron said, separating the protesters who have “fair and real demands” from those who “destroyed, broke, and stole things.”
“Those who have broken things must pay,” he said, promising that the government would be “completely strict” against “troublemakers from extreme-left groups, joined by many criminals” who had “started out of control violence in our towns.” News writers from AFP reported that police used tear gas and loud stun bombs against hundreds of people who gathered in a Paris square on Sunday, after messages on social media called for a meeting that government leaders said was not allowed. Protesters threw bottles and rocks at the police, who arrested several people. Stores were also broken into and robbed around Place de la République, where special anti-riot police were sent for the second day in a row. Violence also broke out in the southeastern city of Lyon, where police stopped groups of young people trying to smash the windows of an expensive clothing shop.
The riots are happening just a few months before a presidential election where the middle-ground leader Macron cannot run for office again, while Marine Le Pen, the far-right National Rally party’s presidential runner, is doing very well in the voter polls. Le Pen said the riots showed that Macron’s government was “out of energy, tired, and lost.” Her main assistant, Jordan Bardella, called Macron’s speech a “terrible” talk that proved the government had “nothing left to say” to the people of France. Jean-Luc Mélenchon, leader of the far-left France Unbowed party who is also running for president, urged Macron to answer the protesters’ demands, saying young people “need this situation to end in a good way.” Macron stated that “our country deserves a good presidential election,” filled with calm talks “with the political parties, rather than fighting with violence in the streets.”
Saturday’s protests brought together worker unions, the anti-Macron Yellow Vests group that shook up the early years of his time as president, and school students who had been protesting for weeks. They showed anger over high living costs and the poor future for young people. As pictures of burning French town halls and robbed stores made big news across the world, U.S. President Donald Trump shared his thoughts, blaming immigration for the trouble. “France is burning! The immigration of people from a completely different world, people with hate in their hearts, has broken that once great country,” Trump said in an internet post.
Macron promised that top leaders would “make choices alongside city mayors to protect our towns, public buildings, and shops.” He said, “Seeing the streets of our towns destroyed in this way cannot be allowed,” promising to help businesses hurt by the riots. He also promised “total openness” about how the security forces handled the protests, following complaints that police plans were not good enough. Some opposing politicians have already asked for Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez to be fired from his job. Macron said he told Nuñez to “learn all the important lessons,” especially about gathering secret information and spotting trouble early, adding that he expects “clear answers.”
“It feels like we had a war,” 78-year-old Paris resident Mehmet Ozeden told AFP, as burnt street barriers from Saturday’s protests could still be seen. In the city of Limoges, a fire destroyed the old 19th-century town hall building. Local leader Maurice Barate told the LCI news channel that the fire was started on purpose by “a wild group of people.” In Lyon, a tourist center in the middle of the city was set on fire during the protests, among many fights and events of stealing. A 17-year-old boy had his right hand blown off by a police crowd bomb in the southern city of Saint-Étienne. In Mulhouse, a 17-year-old girl lost an eye, according to lawyers working for the state.
