France: Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu announces curfews

After the serious riots and looting in France at the weekend, French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu has announced the imposition of local curfews.

Lecornu told journalists on Monday that he had instructed the responsible authorities to take appropriate measures that evening. He is determined to restore public order. If necessary, a state of emergency can also be declared. At this point in time, however, partial curfews are more appropriate.

“These curfews must be local and limited,” explained Lecornu. He emphasized: "There is no question of placing the whole of Paris under a curfew." He initially left it open exactly which cities would be affected. The football game between Paris Saint-Germain and FC Barcelona in the Champions League scheduled for Tuesday evening should take place as planned. During the nationwide protests against the high cost of living, street battles broke out between demonstrators and the police in several French cities over the weekend. Rioters looted hundreds of stores.

According to the Interior Ministry, more than 2,000 people were arrested and over 600 officers were injured. Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin acknowledged weaknesses in the security apparatus. The authorities took successful action against terrorism, but not against left-wing extremist demonstrators. “Clearly they are not taking effective action against the extreme left,” Darmanin told France 2.

President Emmanuel Macron rejected an offer to resign from Interior Minister Laurent Nunez to secure the chain of command. He instructed Nunez to develop new concepts against looters. In Marseille, authorities temporarily banned public gatherings on Monday.

In Paris, after renewed riots on Sunday, there was again looting at night, said Mayor Emmanuel Grégoire and spoke of "unbearable scenes." "It wasn't on the same scale as on Saturday, but there were groups of looters who were spread across several parts of the city," Grégoire told France Inter broadcaster. According to Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez, 351 people were arrested in Paris yesterday and overnight.

Yellow vests want to take to the streets at the weekend

The yellow vest protest movement has announced new demonstrations for next Saturday. On October 24th there will be a »2. The organizers of the weekend's rallies announced on their website that there would be an act of protest. Accordingly, demonstrations will take place again in dozens of places.

The Yellow Vests' protest against high living costs and social injustice kept France in suspense between November 2018 and spring 2019. Its name comes from the fact that many of the demonstrators wore yellow safety vests. Before the weekend of protests there had been a call to revive the movement.