French police lost control during nationwide protests marred by violence over the weekend, the interior minister admitted Monday, prompting President Emmanuel Macron to call for an immediate security review. Despite acknowledging severe security and intelligence failures, Macron refused to accept the resignation of Interior Minister Laurent Nunez.
Saturday's demonstrations drew an estimated half a million people across France to protest the rising cost of living, but the events quickly escalated into some of the worst violence the country has experienced in years. Town halls and commercial shops were looted and set ablaze, resulting in more than 2,500 arrests and injuries to nearly 1,000 members of the security forces. Protesters also sustained injuries, including one demonstrator who lost a hand from a police crowd-control grenade.
Speaking about the weekend's events, Nunez conceded that authorities could not reassure affected business owners after hundreds of establishments were ransacked. He admitted there was a clear lack of anticipation in deploying security personnel, noting that the roughly 60,000 law enforcement officers deployed nationwide were insufficient to manage the large crowds of rioters operating on the fringes of the marches.
Acknowledging the immense damage, Nunez stated that offering his resignation was the appropriate action. However, the French presidency released a statement confirming that Macron rejected the offer, emphasizing the ongoing necessity for consistent leadership within law enforcement.
Instead of accepting the resignation, Macron directed Nunez to ensure complete transparency regarding the planning and intelligence breakdowns that enabled the violence. The president also instructed the interior minister to quickly establish new operational tactics for ground forces to effectively combat rioters and put a stop to barricades and looting.
Unrest spilled over into Sunday, with Paris officials reporting that approximately 30 shops were targeted in the capital alone. Nunez noted that roughly 350 individuals were arrested in Paris over Sunday and the following night.
According to Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin, more than 2,330 people were taken into police custody nationwide over the weekend, with adults making up 70 percent of those detained. Chamber of commerce president Alain Di Crescenzo estimated that more than 2,000 shops were impacted by the weekend turmoil, with total damages expected to run into hundreds of millions of euros.
In a televised address on Sunday evening, Macron strongly condemned the unbridled violence and announced that local authorities would be granted the authority to ban specific rallies if deemed necessary. However, the president refrained from declaring more drastic measures such as a state of emergency or a curfew. The violent weekend demonstrations followed four weeks of high school student protests that had also periodically turned violent.