After violent riots: French Prime Minister announces “locally limited” curfews

“One of the objectives of this curfew is to protect people, but also property, especially shops,” Lecornu said. We are dealing with a very specific, very specific crime involving looting and the resale of some of the looted goods.

Although Lecornu did not rule out the imposition of a state of emergency, he does not currently consider it to be the right option. This is a serious measure, he said. Given the situation, curfews seemed more appropriate.

At the weekend, nationwide protests against the high cost of living in France were accompanied by serious riots and looting. The Foreign Office advises caution when traveling to France. “Behave carefully and avoid demonstrations if possible,” says the travel advice on the ministry’s website. Further protests “and possibly riots in the coming days” cannot be ruled out. Travelers should follow instructions from French security forces.

Louvre closed – Interior Minister offers resignation

The situation remained tense in the French capital Paris at the beginning of the week. For example, the world-famous Louvre did not open its doors as usual on Monday. The museum cited the student protest movement as its justification and asked to apologize for “the inconvenience caused.”

As French media reported, access was blocked by students who wanted to support the school protests that have been taking place for weeks and denounce alleged police violence.

In response to the events at the weekend, Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez offered to resign on Monday - but President Emmanuel Macron rejected this. “I submitted my resignation because I am responsible for everything that happens,” Nuñez told France Inter broadcaster. Macron rejected this, citing “the need for continued leadership of the law enforcement forces under the current circumstances,” the Élysée Palace said.

Macron asked the Interior Minister to clarify what “deficiencies in foresight and information gathering” led to the serious riots. “In order to put an end to the building of barricades and looting, he has also called on the Interior Minister to introduce new procedures on site as quickly as possible for the internal security forces in the fight against rioters,” the Élysée Palace continued.

The Interior Minister said that there was a lack of “forward-looking action” in the mobilization of the law enforcement forces. “There was of course an imbalance” between the law enforcement officers and the people on the street as well as “a loss of control.” Nuñez said that “everything will be done to ensure that something like this does not happen again.”

Macron had said in a televised speech the evening before that police work was being examined, something he had asked the Interior Minister to do. On Saturday, despite their professionalism, the emergency services were confronted with unprecedented violence in numerous cities, said Macron. Something like this shouldn't happen again.