Macron Refuses Interior Minister’s Resignation Amid Escalating RiotS

Interior Minister Laurent Nunez acknowledges that police ‘lost control’ during weekend protests.

The French President, Emmanuel Macron, has declined Interior Minister Laurent Nunez’s offer to resign after nationwide demonstrations by students protesting educational conditions and groups angry over high cost of living turned into widespread riots and looting, the Elysee presidential office said.

Macron told Nunez that he must stay in his role to preserve the chain of command within police and security forces and to develop new tactics for confronting looters, the statement read on Monday.

The president also asked Nunez to “take all necessary steps to ensure transparency over the failures in planning and intelligence that led to the violence,” the declaration added.

The Ministry of the Interior reported that more than 2,300 individuals were arrested and nearly 1,000 officers and gendarmes sustained injuries during Saturday protests. Injuries were also recorded among demonstrators, including a case in which a protester lost a hand to a police crowd‑control grenade.

Nationally, the protests drew over half a million participants. Looting, arson, and property damage erupted in numerous cities, with masked agitators assaulting town halls, police stations, and other government buildings.

On Saturday, in several major cities, Nunez described seeing shopkeepers stared down after dozens of stores were ransacked, noting “we hadn’t lost control.” Nunez admitted the security forces suffered a “lack of anticipation” in their deployment, stating their numbers proved inadequate against the swarms of rioters and thieves on the periphery of the demonstrations.

He estimated that 60,000 law‑enforcement personnel were deployed throughout the nation that day.

“Given the extensive damage inflicted, it was only right for me to submit my resignation,” Nunez explained.

Looting persisted into Sunday, and Paris Mayor Emmanuel Gregoire reported that roughly 30 commercial premises had been targeted in the capital the previous day, calling the scene “unbearable.”

In Paris, about 350 people were detained on Sunday and overnight, according to Nunez.

Nationwide, more than 2,330 citizens were placed under police custody over the weekend, with 70 percent being adults, Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin confirmed.

The turbulent weekend unfolded after weeks of student rallies demanding reform of the education system, higher spending on schools, relief from overcrowding, teacher shortages, and systemic underfunding—the largest youth‑led protest movement in France in recent years.

Source link