France: After riots and looting, Prime Minister asked to impose partial curfew in some cities

French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu has said that some cities of France have been given the right to impose partial curfew for the safety of people and shops.

According to BBC correspondent Hugh Schofield, the French PM made several announcements after the cabinet meeting in Paris regarding the crisis.

The PM said that if the riots continue, emergency can be imposed in the country. Till then, night time curfew may be imposed in some areas as per the need.

Lecornu has given some local mayors the authority to impose such curfews. However, how these restrictions will be implemented in practice is not yet completely clear.

For example, the area around Place de la Republique in Paris may restrict the movement of people during certain times.

The Prime Minister said that 200 police investigators are now examining online videos in which the looters themselves recorded their activities. Its objective is to bring the accused to justice.

The Prime Minister once again targeted the political far-left. Lecornu accused them of trying to incite unrest ahead of presidential elections in April next year.

Home Minister Laura Nunez has said that after violent protests in many cities there, the situation has gone out of the control of the police.

He said that the administration failed to appreciate the seriousness of the situation.

He also offered to resign but French President Emmanuel Macron requested him to remain in office.

Macron has asked Nunez to find ways to make France's streets safer and bring to justice those responsible for Saturday and Sunday's violence.

On Saturday, 17 October, more than 5 lakh people demonstrated against rising inflation and the poor quality of public services, including public education. Most of the demonstrations remained peaceful. But later some protesters and vandals wearing black clothes with their faces covered came forward, after which the situation worsened.

It is estimated that about 1,500 shops and businesses were looted and vandalized.

Anti-riot police fired tear gas shells and used water cannon on the crowd. At many places, policemen were seen beating people with batons. According to the French Interior Ministry, about 1,000 policemen were injured on Saturday, including seven in critical condition.

Interior Minister Nunez has been accused by political opponents, some trade unions and people on social media forums of not making adequate preparations to deal with the many protests scheduled for Saturday and of having too little police deployment.

Speaker of the lower house of the French Parliament, Yael Brown-Pieve, has said that she wants to set up an investigative committee to investigate the entire matter.

On Sunday night, a wall near a row of broken shops in the French capital Paris was written in red paint, "Darkness has engulfed the city of light."

Paris is often called the 'City of Light'.

There were also rumors in France that President Emmanuel Macron might impose a temporary curfew in some parts of the country or impose a state of emergency to calm the situation.

Finally, Macron addressed the nation on television on Sunday. He appealed to the people for national unity and tried to assure the French people that those responsible for the violence would be punished.

Macron's speech has been strongly criticized in the French media. Media says that concrete information was not given in the speech.

Many questions are also being asked in the media. For example, how will those involved in vandalism and rioting be brought to justice? How can France's cities and towns be better protected? Especially when after a few weeks massive demonstrations have been announced again. How and when will businessmen be compensated for the losses caused by vandalism? And when will the talks start with students and teachers' organizations on the issue of education? After all, these demonstrations had started last month on these same issues.

On Sunday, Sophie Binet, secretary general of the CGT union, one of France's largest trade unions, accused Macron of failing to address students' concerns, the inflation crisis and the steadily declining quality of public services in France.

It seems that the President has now handed over this responsibility to Prime Minister Lecornu. In France, Macron is widely seen as a president whose term is about to end. He is on his way to leave power.

There is a tough competition going on to become his successor and elections are to be held after six months. Presidential candidate Marine Le Pen of the anti-immigrant nationalist right and Jean-Luc Mellon, leader of the anti-capitalist left, are also trying to make headlines.

This is further increasing the already ongoing tension in France. This tension is visible in politics as well as on the streets.

The French Parliament is stalled and there are deep differences between the three political factions. All three are competing with each other for power.

Apart from this, France also has economic problems. Investors are continuously putting pressure on the government to control the rising public debt. But the French government fears that if it cuts the budget for public services or welfare schemes, even more angry people will take to the streets.

At this time, people in France are often asking the question, "What will happen now? What will happen next? Is our country broken?"

People across France are shocked and disturbed by Saturday's events. Images of cities surrounded by tear gas, open looting and burning public buildings have worried the country.

Many of the people I speak to are frustrated that they are worried about the future, but the country's key leaders are instead blaming each other and holding each other responsible for the current instability.

“While we are worried about our safety, they are turning this situation into a political battle cry for the presidential election,” Eduar, a teacher and father of three, told me.

Macron and his prime minister blamed radical leftist groups and rioters for Saturday's violence and chaos. Meanwhile, hard-left leader Jean-Luc Mellon accused the government of "incompetence".

Nationalist right-wing leader Marine Le Pen, known for her tough stance on law and order issues, released a video of herself sitting in front of the French flag in presidential style. In it he held the "tired, drained and directionless Macron government" responsible for the violence.