French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu announced targeted curfews across cities after violent weekend riots led to more than 2,500 arrests and extensive property damage.
PARIS: France will impose new curfews where needed on Tuesday, Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu said, as authorities sought to restore order after weekend demonstrations degenerated into riots.
The eurozone’s second-largest economy was rocked on Saturday by some of its worst street violence in recent years, just six months before the country elects a successor to President Emmanuel Macron.
Images of clashes and public buildings set on fire or vandalised circulated around the world, prompting several countries, including the United States, China and Germany, to issue travel advisories for their citizens in France.
Accused of failing to anticipate and contain the street violence, the government has pledged to restore order, and had announced partial curfews in Paris and some other cities on Monday.
The targeted measures had “helped keep the night calm,” Lecornu said.
Macron, currently on a Gulf tour aimed at securing oil and diesel supplies in an effort to bring down prices, has acknowledged shortcomings in the handling of the protests.
The presidency said Macron had secured the delivery of an additional 200,000 tonnes of diesel per month from the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain during the tour.
Targeted curfews-
Lecornu said that new curfews would be decided “where the situation requires it.”
“Targeted curfews have contributed to calm overnight,” he wrote on X.
The government scheduled another series of emergency meetings on Tuesday, including talks involving representatives of major social media platforms.
Under pressure, Lecornu will convene political parties for a meeting on Thursday, a member of his team said. He will also meet with trade unions on Wednesday.
The government has come under criticism from parties across the political spectrum, with far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen describing the unrest as a “wake-up call” that exposed a “profound crisis” of authority.
Police confirmed the night had passed without major incidents across France.
Several cities, including Paris, the southwestern city of Bordeaux and Nice on the French Riviera, introduced partial curfews on Monday in response to urban unrest that followed weeks of student demonstrations over poor learning conditions in high schools.
While some restrictions, such as those in Paris, initially applied only for the night from Monday to Tuesday, others, particularly in Bordeaux and Nice, were set to remain in force for several days.
During the night, a helicopter flew over the French capital’s Place de la Republique, one of the epicentres of the unrest, sweeping a powerful searchlight across the square to monitor compliance with the curfew.
In Lyon, despite a ban on demonstrations, around 500 people gathered on Monday evening outside the tourism office that was set on fire, to show support for shopkeepers affected by looting, according to organisers.
The word “LYON” had been spelled out on the ground with candles.
A banner hung on a fence nearby read “Anti-Rioters Lyon” and “Doucet Resign”, referring to Green mayor Gregory Doucet, an AFP journalist said.
‘Close up your borders’
Nationwide, more than 2,500 people have been taken into police custody since the weekend, and 67 people had been jailed.
Some demonstrators were seriously injured. In the eastern city of Mulhouse, a 17-year-old girl lost an eye. In Saint-Etienne, a 17-year-old boy had his hand blown off by a grenade.
Interior Minister Laurent Nunez offered to resign on Sunday, saying police “had lost control” during the unrest. Macron rejected his resignation.
Finance Minister Roland Lescure has pledged support measures for shopkeepers and craftspeople.
Patrick Martin, the head of France’s Medef business lobby group, on Tuesday accused the state of having “failed” during the urban unrest that hit at least 3,000 businesses, according to preliminary estimates.
Donald Trump has seized on the unrest in France to amplify his anti-immigration and anti-Islam rhetoric, as the upcoming midterm elections force his Republican party to face strong headwinds.
“What’s happening in France has to do with immigration, not schools, not anything,” Trump told reporters in Washington.
“It’s immigration, and I told President Emmanuel Macron, close up your borders.”