Macron condemns those who ‘sought to bring down the Republic’ after rioting mars nationwide protests
French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday voiced the public’s “anger” and “shame” over rioting and looting during nationwide protests against rising living costs and poor conditions in schools. At least 2,400 people were arrested.
...vows to hold accountable those who ‘sought to bring down the Republic’
PARIS (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday voiced the public’s “anger” and “shame” over rioting and looting during nationwide protests against rising living costs and poor conditions in schools. At least 2,400 people were arrested.
Macron echoed other government officials in blaming much of the violence on far-left activists, accusing them of attacking police and public buildings to foment chaos.
“Those who looted will have to pay for the damage, and those who sought to bring down the Republic will be held accountable,” Macron said in a televised address to the nation.
He denounced “unrestrained violence” by “insurrectionist elements from radical far-left groups, joined by numerous criminals.”
Macron earlier held an emergency meeting with senior government officials, a day after masked groups set fires and attacked city halls in several cities.
Flames engulfed the 19th-century City Hall in the city of Limoges, in central France, causing its roof to collapse and nearly destroying the building, even as new tensions erupted in Paris on Sunday
In Paris, hundreds of protesters gathered again on Sunday at the Place de la République amid a heavy police presence.
“The right to protest is a fundamental right. Deliberately and collectively sowing disorder through violence is not,” Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez wrote on X, citing the looting of hundreds of businesses across the country.
Authorities estimated Saturday’s marches had a turnout of about 550,000, while organizers put it at 800,000. Demonstrators answered calls from a labor union, student organizations and activists hoping to revive the “yellow vest” movement, which emerged in 2018 to protest social injustice.
Mass protests in France are often marred by violence on the fringes of otherwise peaceful marches, leading to clashes with police. The arrest tally reported Sunday approached the nearly 2,000 recorded nationwide during a single day of yellow vest protests in December 2018.
Paris police said one person died of a heart attack, without providing details. The Paris prosecutor’s office said it was investigating.
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