Chaos on the streets of France. The minister admits: The police have lost control

On Monday, the Elysée Palace announced that President Emmanuel Macron did not accept the resignation of Interior Minister Laurent Nunez. The minister resigned after violent riots broke out in many French cities over the weekend. However, Macron concluded that in the current situation, Nunez should remain in office to ensure continuity of command in the police and security services.

The president instructed the minister to take all steps to clarify errors in forecasts and information before the demonstrations. It was they who – as it was admitted – contributed to the services' inability to stop the spreading riots.

The minister admits his mistakes

In an interview with Radio France Inter, Laurent Nunez admitted that on Saturday, in some large cities, the police "lost control." The minister emphasized that the police forces were in some places inadequate to the number of protest participants, and the number of "vandals" and the presence of "extreme left activists" had been underestimated.

Nunez explained that he felt responsible for the course of events, which is why he resigned. At the same time, he stressed that the responsibility of "vandals, looters and far-right activists" who - according to him - "wanted to kill policemen" could not be ignored. The minister also pointed to the political responsibility of the far-left party France Untamed (LFI), accusing it of failing to sufficiently condemn the acts of violence.

Economic consequences of the riots

On Saturday, demonstrations against the rising cost of living turned into riots across the country. Participants attacked public buildings and looted shops and commercial outlets. There were also clashes with the police and attempted looting on Sunday in Paris and Marseille.

The scale of losses after the weekend riots is enormous. The president of the network of chambers of commerce and industry in France (CCI France), in an interview with Le Monde, estimates that over 2,000 enterprises have been directly affected by acts of violence, with losses amounting to hundreds of millions of euros.

Minister Nunez announced that 350 people were detained on Sunday and at night in the capital alone. The situation is still tense, and the French authorities announce decisive actions to restore order and draw conclusions from recent events.

Macron's message

French President Emmanuel Macron reacted to the events. In a televised speech, he called on political parties and trade unions to clearly condemn the violence. He announced that the perpetrators would be punished and actions would be taken to prevent further riots.

According to "Le Monde", Macron's speech was watched by 16.7 million viewers, making it the most watched of the recent televised presidential speeches.

The protests are still ongoing

According to "Le Figaro", the entrance to the Louvre museum is currently blocked in the French capital. "The tourists waiting for us are aggressive because they paid for the tickets," reports one of the protesters, who hands out leaflets in French and English.