Violence in France: “The intention was to destroy, smash, kill”

The shock over the fire in the town hall of Limoges is still deep with Mayor Guillaume Guérin. The video of the collapse of the burning town hall tower went around the world. The Republican interprets the events in conversation with French media as an attack on a secular, democratic civilization that is to be destroyed. The 39-year-old city head reported that on Saturday, weddings were still celebrated in the ballroom of the historic town hall building of the 130,000-inhabitant city. His deputy and many servants were therefore in the building when the rioters entered by force. “They shouted, ‘You will all burn!’” Guérin describes visibly moved. “There was an intention to destroy, to smash, to kill,” says the mayor. The demonstration for higher wages and lower prices in Limoges was initially peaceful. “We are a city of ordinary people with strong trade unions,” says Guérin. Among the approximately 5000 demonstrators, however, about 500 activists of the extreme left have mixed. They had brought mortars and a 200-kilogram. You don’t just put that in a backpack, says the Republican. The group carried black flags, Palestinian flags and flags of the New Anticapitalist Party. “They were all dressed in black, ready for an urban guerrilla fight,” he adds. City officials are severely traumatized. The invaders would have threatened the receptionist: “We will kill you.” The man was able to save himself by a back exit. The first cities imposed night curfews after the violent riots during protests in the country. These should apply, among other things, in some quarters of Paris from Monday evening 11 pm to Tuesday morning 6 pm, as the police prefecture of the capital announced. As early as 8 p.m., a demonstration ban applied in the hotspots of the riots at the weekend. A night curfew was also imposed in the northern city of Lille. Other municipalities in the region imposed similar measures. Mayors demand answers from the government On Monday, the mayoral association AMF called on citizens to gather in front of the city halls to show their solidarity and to defend themselves democratically against the attacks of the weekend. The mayor of Paris, Emmanuel Grégoire, a socialist, demanded explanations from the minority government of Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu. He wanted to understand “what went wrong in maintaining public order,” he said on Monday. The number of rioters was obviously underestimated, the police force was not large enough. Grégoire said it would also be necessary to question the “boiling tactics of the police,” which he felt led to thousands of peaceful protesters being blocked. “When tear gas is used everywhere, it drives everyone apart and offers rioters and bandits the opportunity to cause chaos,” the visibly incensed mayor told France Inter radio. “How could it happen that the rioters could sometimes walk around for hours without the police intervening?” he asked. In the French capital, there were also new looting and clashes between gangs and the police on Monday night. In several neighborhoods, business owners watched all night in their shops to defend them from possible looting attempts. They described how they had armed themselves with baseball bats and pepper spray to drive out intruders. The President of the Paris Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Dominique Restino, spoke on Monday of at least 400 shops in Paris, which were robbed and plundered at the weekend. On streets around Republic Square, most shops remained closed on Monday. Across the country, more than 1,500 stores were looted. Interior Minister's Resignation Request Rejected The mayor of Marseille, Benoît Payan, also made serious accusations against the government on Monday. The renegade socialist said he was stunned how his city had been delivered to the looters. The state has proven incapable of protecting public buildings and civil servants from the rioters. He was particularly shocked that the criminals who rioted in the Marseilles town hall were not arrested by the police. Payan said he wanted to make the video recordings that proved this available to a parliamentary commission of inquiry. “I don’t understand why the police fired tear gas not against the looters, but against the demonstrators,” he said. On Monday, the police prefect imposed a ban on meetings in the Mediterranean metropolis. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez had submitted a resignation request to President Emmanuel Macron after the security fiasco on Sunday. But as Nuñez confirmed on Monday, the president rejected the resignation with reference to the tense security situation. In a televised address to the nation, Macron expressed horror at the destruction and called for rounds of talks to pacify the situation. Looking at the pictures, we all wondered: What’s going on in these people? How can the French do such a thing to France? Why set fire to the Limoges City Hall and the Lyon Tourist Office, storm the Marseille City Hall or attack the prefect’s residence in Bordeaux? He confirmed that he would nevertheless leave for his round trip to the Gulf region. Criticism of Macron: “A proof of powerlessness” For his comments, Macron received harsh criticism. His former Prime Minister, presidential candidate Édouard Philippe, said: Our country needs leadership..