France to deploy troops as more protests planned for weekend
Calm has returned to the streets of Paris as authorities imposed curfews in several cities in an effort to prevent another round of rioting and looting.
France will reinforce police with troops and mount a huge security operation for more planned protests, the government says, acknowledging failures in its response to last weekend’s violence.
“The deployment next Saturday will be massive,” Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu said, adding that the immediate priority was to restore order after rioting and looting swept Paris, Marseille, Lyon and other cities on October 17.
Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said the military would be deployed alongside police, while the government pledged to overhaul tactics after widespread criticism that city centres had been left vulnerable.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.Framing the crisis as a choice “between violence and the Republic”, Lecornu blamed the unrest on “far-left” groups, who in turn have accused the government of underestimating public anger over high living costs and declining public services.
The turmoil shocked France because of both its scale and the apparent inability of police to contain it, inflaming tensions ahead of presidential elections next year with opinion polls suggesting candidates from the populist left and right are leading the pack.
Protests in other European countries, including Italy and Albania, have added to concerns that anger over living standards risks spreading around the continent.
A night of relative calm in France followed targeted curfews imposed in several areas affected by the chaos, which the government said had helped reassert control.
The localised curfews, some directed at children and teenagers under age 18, were extended to Tuesday night, police said.
Lecornu acknowledged shortcomings in the state’s response at the weekend, saying there had been intelligence failures while police deployments had been too static and authorities had erred by not cancelling planned police leave.
Nunez apologised for the mistakes.
“I deeply regret what happened. I accept my share of responsibility,” he said.
Parliament is setting up a commission of inquiry to establish the causes of the unrest while authorities have assigned 200 investigators to identify and track down those involved in the street violence.
Police arrested on Tuesday a man suspected of starting a blaze that destroyed a historical town hall in the central city of Limoges during the rioting.
Officials said he had been on a security watch list and belonged to an “ultra-left” group.
Sylvain Maillard, a Renaissance deputy for Paris, told Reuters some apps had become “a walkie-talkie system for rioters and looters”.
Supermarket chain Carrefour said it had lost tens of millions of euros through theft and damage, warning that it faced an “unprecedented situation” because of the disorder.
France’s main student union UNEF has called for further protests on Saturday, pledging to maintain pressure on Macron’s government over what it says is a deteriorating and underfunded education system.
“We carry on,” it said on social media.
Separately, groups identifying themselves as “Gilets Jaunes” (Yellow Vests) called for protest actions over rising fuel costs.
The yellow vest movement, largely inactive in recent years, sprang up in 2018 during Macron’s first term over plans to raise petrol taxes.
Traffic blockades continued for months until the government made costly concessions it can ill afford now.
Originally published on Reuters
