The Prime Minister says that the ultra-left wants to “organize deep disorder” to “call into question the calendar of the presidential election”

Does the social and security crisis shaking France threaten the next presidential election? This is what the Prime Minister suggested on Monday, October 19, during a press briefing following a new interministerial crisis unit.

“Now, it has been shown that we still have an ultra-left movement that wants to organize deep disorder in the country until the presidential election,” he declared. “This was made clear to us by the intelligence services this morning. There is a whole nebula that can be activated to call into question the calendar of the presidential election and the holding of the presidential election.”

The intelligence services' findings lead the government to ask itself several questions. “How can we protect this democratic framework that is the presidential election? There is no question of violent minorities imposing an agenda of violence and preventing us from holding this election,” he said. “This raises for me the question of the security of the candidates, the security of meetings, whatever the political parties.”

“I can clearly see that the democratic agenda will be hit by this agenda of disorder as imagined by these different small groups,” declared Sébastien Lecornu.

Union protests in danger

The possible violence also raises “questions of freedom of association”, raised the head of government. “There is no pattern in which from now on the freedom to demonstrate can be so damaged by movements of rioters,” he continued, saying that an exchange was planned between the government and the leadership of the unions.

“We must be able to look with them at the security of these demonstration movements because we cannot put in danger the employees, the French men and women, and sometimes minors, who demonstrated,” he underlined. “And many people demonstrated peacefully, it must be said again.”