France: Interior Minister wants to resign after unrest – Emmanuel Macron refuses

After the serious riots in France, President Emmanuel Macron rejected an offer to resign from Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez. Nuñez should remain in office to maintain the chain of command within the police and security forces, the presidential office in Paris said. According to the statement, Macron sees “failures” in planning police operations and gathering information in the run-up to the violence in several French cities. Macron has called on Nuñez to ensure transparency in dealing with these shortcomings and to develop new operational concepts for the security forces.

Throughout France, there was massive violence at the weekend and especially on Saturday. Shops were looted, buildings and vehicles went up in flames, protesters fought bitter street battles with the police, who used tear gas, among other things. According to the Ministry of the Interior, 2,397 people were arrested. The violence injured 997 police and other security forces, seven of them severely.

Macron had condemned the “unrestrained” violence on Sunday evening in a television address. “We all feel anger and shame tonight,” he said. The president also called for a distinction to be made between protesters with “legitimate demands” and rioters. According to the organizers, the protests were directed against high costs of living and maladministration in the education system.

The protests began in September because of the lack of teachers in schools at social hotspots. They are now generally directed against social inequality, cuts in public spending and inflation.

The unrest put Macron under additional pressure before the presidential election next year. Macron himself is no longer allowed to stand in the election. Polls indicate a victory for the right-wing populist Marine Le Pen.