French Prime Minister Lecornu announces curfews

Following the riots in France, the government has announced local curfews. Calls for further protests are circulating for Saturday. Federal Interior Minister Dobrindt blamed two groups for the riots in the neighbouring country. Following the serious riots on the fringes of protests in France, Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu has announced curfews in several towns. He had asked the prefects to impose locally restricted curfews, Lecornu said after a crisis meeting. The prefects are France’s highest-ranking representatives in the départements. According to Lecornu, the curfews were primarily intended to protect shops from further looting. He explained that they were dealing with a very specific type of crime involving looting and the resale of some of the looted goods. Whilst Lecornu did not rule out declaring a state of emergency, he does not currently consider it the appropriate measure. This is a serious measure, he said. Given the situation, curfews seemed to him to be a more appropriate response. The first towns, mainly in the north of the country, imposed curfews that evening. The measures are initially set to apply on Monday and Tuesday between 8 pm and 6 am and affect the towns of Lille, Douai, Wattignies and Denain. Macron announces a tough response – new protests announced Meanwhile, new demonstrations have been announced for this coming Saturday. For example, a call to action is circulating online for Paris, says ARD’s Paris correspondent Michael Strempel. However, these are not registered demonstrations organised by large organisations or trade unions, but rather an online phenomenon. The biggest problem for the French security authorities at present is spontaneous actions and calls to action. As early as Sunday evening, President Emmanuel Macron had announced in a televised address that he would take a hard line against the rioters who had mingled with the demonstrators. “Those who have tried to overthrow the Republic will be held to account.” At the same time, he emphasised the need to address the concerns of those who had demonstrated peacefully against the rising cost of living. He added that there was also widespread uncertainty amongst young people regarding their own future. Thousands arrested, many injured According to the Ministry of Justice, more than 2,300 people were taken into police custody across the country over the weekend. In Paris alone, a further 350 people were arrested on Sunday and during the night leading into Monday, as Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez reported. Criminal proceedings are being brought against more than 80 per cent of them. Several dozen suspects have already been remanded in custody. There were numerous injuries during the riots. Images on social media showed groups of masked individuals smashing shop windows and looting shops. In Limoges, the 19th-century town hall was almost completely burnt down. The situation remained tense into Monday morning, particularly in Paris. The Prime Minister described the situation as “chaos”, noting that it was “geographically very uneven”. Home Secretary admits loss of control In response to the weekend’s events, Home Secretary Nuñez had offered his resignation. However, President Emmanuel Macron rejected this, citing the need to maintain the chain of command within the police and security forces. He had previously admitted to mistakes. Speaking on the radio station France Inter, he said the security authorities had underestimated the number of people taking part in the protests. In some cities, the police had lost control. According to Nuñez, there had been a lack of “proactive action” in mobilising the security forces. He said he would “do everything to ensure that something like this does not happen again”. Benoît Payan, the mayor of Marseille, France’s second-largest city, spoke of “absolutely unprecedented scenes of violence”. In an interview with BFMTV, he described it as a “security fiasco”. He said the police and the demonstrators had been turned into “cannon fodder”. “The security forces were overwhelmed because they were outnumbered and disorganised,” said Payan. The authorities in Marseille responded today by imposing a ban on public gatherings from 12:00 to 20:00. Dobrindt condemns violence in France Commenting on the events in the neighbouring country, Federal Minister of the Interior Alexander Dobrindt blamed left-wing extremists and migrants for the violent scenes on the streets of France. This must be clearly stated, the CSU politician told the *Bild* newspaper. Dobrindt strongly condemned the violence. “Those who turn streets into battlefields, attack police officers and set fire to town halls are not demonstrating for better education, but are waging an armed struggle against liberal society and our way of life,” he said. Warning to travellers to France France expert Jacob Ross broadly confirms this assessment. There are three groups with completely different concerns, Ross said in an interview with tagesschau24. On the one hand, there are school pupils and students demonstrating for legitimate causes. These have been infiltrated by far-left and left-wing autonomous groups who are “becoming increasingly violent in city centres”. The third group consists of young people, often from migrant backgrounds, from the suburbs of major French cities. “They appear to be trying, at every opportunity, to mingle with such large-scale events, then commit arson, attack the police or simply loot shops.” Due to the tense situation, the Federal Foreign Office is currently also advising travellers to France to exercise caution. “Exercise caution and avoid demonstrations where possible,” state the travel advice on the website of the Mi…