French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu said he had instructed governors and regional representatives of the government to impose a “very limited” and “localized” curfew to prevent further rioting and looting, following the weekend’s violence that targeted city halls, other public buildings and thousands of businesses across the country.
Speaking after an emergency meeting with senior government officials, Lecornu said: “On Saturday, despite scenes of extreme violence and massive property damage, no one was killed, and this is a miracle” and defended the work of police officers in the face of violent groups of people.
Lecorno said details of the areas where the curfew will be imposed will be provided later on Monday.
The instructions come as Interior Minister Laurent Nunez tendered his resignation on Sunday, but President Emmanuel Macron rejected it “given the need for continued law enforcement leadership in the current context,” Macron’s office said in a statement on Monday.
The statement added that he had instructed Nuñez “to take all necessary steps to ensure full transparency regarding the failures in planning and intelligence gathering that led to the violence.”
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Macron also called for the introduction of “new police tactics on the ground as quickly as possible” to put an end to the violent incidents.
On Sunday evening, groups set fire to trash cans, bicycles and other items in the streets and looted businesses in Paris, Lyon, Marseille and other cities. This came in the wake of major violence during nationwide protests on Saturday against high costs of living and poor conditions in schools. At least 2,400 people were arrested across the country.
Authorities estimated on Monday that at least 3,000 businesses were damaged or looted in several cities during the weekend’s violence.
In Marseille, the governor banned any protest or other gathering from noon until eight o’clock on Monday evening.
“I submitted my resignation because I am responsible for everything that happens,” Nunez told France Inter radio. “Now, the real issue is ensuring this doesn’t happen again. … We clearly need to be better at anticipating the type of mobilization that unfolds.”
Nunez blamed the violence on “hordes of rioters and looters” and “far-left activists” and said police strategy needed to adapt “in the face of highly mobile groups.” Authorities said groups of hundreds of people sought confrontations with police and targeted public buildings, including city halls and other public offices.
Nunez admitted that authorities “lost control” in some major cities on Saturday, when hundreds of businesses were looted.
“You can’t look shopkeepers in the eye when hundreds of businesses are being looted and say we haven’t lost control in some of these big cities,” Nunez said.
Flames engulfed the 19th-century city hall in the central French city of Limoges, collapsing its roof and nearly destroying the building.
In Paris, cleanup crews and firefighters cleared broken glass and other debris from the streets on Monday.
Uri Zagory, the owner of a video game store near Place de la République in Paris, said he closed the store on Saturday afternoon, but then saw the thieves making their way through surveillance cameras.
“There were a lot of people coming in and out,” Al-Zajouri said. “Even though I called the police, they said they wouldn’t interfere, that they would come, but they never did, which is another problem.”
Jordan Bardella, head of the far-right National Rally, pointed to the government’s failure to prevent violence. “The government has failed, the head of state has failed in his basic duty of protecting the French people,” he told reporters at the party headquarters.
“I now call on the French people, in addition to their right to protest, to use their voting power,” Bardella said. He is campaigning alongside far-right leader Marine Le Pen, who opinion polls have indicated for months that she is the first candidate in the presidential elections scheduled for next spring.
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