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Macron admits 'failures' over riots but refuses interior minister Nuñez's resignation
The French president said the state had failed in anticipation and intelligence, and told Laurent Nuñez to stay on and find new ways to deal with looters, as his cabinet met in emergency session.
Key points
- Macron acknowledged "failures in anticipation and intelligence" after a weekend of rioting and looting.
- He turned down Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez's offer to resign, saying the police chain of command must hold.
- More than 2,330 people were taken into custody over the weekend, the justice minister said.
President Emmanuel Macron on Monday admitted “failures in anticipation and intelligence” in the handling of France’s weekend of rioting, but refused to let his interior minister, Laurent Nuñez, carry the blame by resigning.
The Élysée said Macron had declined Nuñez’s offer to step down because the minister needed to stay in post to keep the chain of command in the police and security forces intact. Macron asked him to come up with new methods for dealing with looters and to be transparent about the planning and intelligence failures behind the violence.
His cabinet was due to meet in emergency session on Monday morning in Paris. Macron has also promised support for businesses hit by the unrest.
“Lost control”
Nuñez had already conceded as much. He acknowledged that police “lost control” on Saturday and pointed to a “lack of anticipation” in how forces were deployed. About 60,000 police and gendarmes were on duty across the country that day, he said, and he had offered his resignation.
More than half a million people took part in Saturday’s protests, which began as marches by students over conditions in schools and grew into a wider revolt over the cost of living and public services. In many cities they turned into looting and arson, with masked rioters attacking town halls, police stations and other government buildings.
The Interior Ministry said more than 2,300 people were arrested on Saturday alone and almost 1,000 police officers and gendarmes were injured. Protesters were hurt too, among them one whose hand was blown off by a police crowd-control grenade.
A second night of looting
The trouble did not end on Saturday. Looting continued on Sunday, and Paris Mayor Emmanuel Grégoire said about 30 shops were targeted in the capital. Nuñez said about 350 people were arrested in Paris on Sunday and overnight.
Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin said more than 2,330 people had been taken into custody over the weekend, 70% of them adults.
Where the anger began
The weekend’s violence followed weeks of protests by high school students over overcrowded classrooms, teacher shortages and years of underinvestment in education, the biggest youth-led movement France has seen in recent memory.
On Saturday night Macron had spoken of his “anger and shame” at the scenes. Monday’s admission of state failure marks a shift in tone, from condemning the rioters to conceding that the government was caught unprepared.
The question now is whether keeping Nuñez in place, with orders to rethink policing of looters, is enough to calm a movement whose grievances over schools and living costs remain unanswered.