He had to be in Brussels all day, where a European summit was being held. Emmanuel Macron finally cut short his visit on Friday to chair a new interministerial crisis unit. This format is also now activated continuously to monitor the situation “and take the necessary decisions”, according to the details of Matignon.
From the Ministry of the Interior, where this exceptional committee is held, the Head of State for his part denounced “an unacceptable instrumentalization of the death of a teenager”. The opportunity to take stock of the situation, three days after the death of young Nahel, in Nanterre, killed by a policeman when he refused to submit to a check.
After a third consecutive night of riots, Emmanuel Macron addressed his first words to the police, of which he congratulated the “quick and efficient” response. Thursday evening, 40,000 police and gendarmes were not enough to contain the wave of urban violence that is spreading in the country. Faced with the escalation of tensions, the president announced the deployment of “additional resources” by the Ministry of the Interior. Among which a reinforcement of the staff of the internal security forces by mobilizing additional mobile forces, a deployment of armored vehicles of the national gendarmerie as well as a reinforced action of the customs to control the transport of prohibited products from border countries.
Earlier, the head of state had already said he was ready to adapt the law enforcement system, said the Elysée. “All hypotheses”, including the establishment of a state of emergency – demanded by several political leaders on the right – are also considered according to Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne. And the situation could be reassessed depending on the evolution of events.
As the arrests intensify over the nights, a circular from the Keeper of the Seals also plans to strengthen immediate appearances. Regarding the persons referred – those who must appear before a judge – new measures apply: a “ban on appearing” for adults and a “ban on night outing” for minors.
After three days of protest, the profile of the rioters is becoming clearer. Among those arrested overnight from Thursday to Friday, “a third are young people, sometimes very young,” said the president. Faced with these images of chaos featuring adolescents, Emmanuel Macron called “for the sense of responsibility of fathers and mothers of families”. Parents must, according to him, keep their children at home. “The Republic is not intended to replace them,” he concluded. Matignon then clarified “the reminder of the civil liability of parents and the sanctions for parents who commit serious breaches of their legal obligations.”
Without a return to calm, several “festive events” and “gatherings” planned for this weekend are canceled in the departments deemed “the most sensitive”, announced Emmanuel Macron. A way of sparing the police, already in high demand in these territories. The latter will thus focus their action on the protection of “town halls and our compatriots”, specified Emmanuel Macron. The concerts of Mylène Farmer, scheduled for Friday and Saturday evening at the Stade de France, have for example been canceled.
The Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, asked all the prefects on Friday to suspend the circulation of all buses and trams in France, from 9 p.m. A precautionary measure already taken in Île-de-France, where many transports were set on fire by the demonstrators. It should be renewed “until further notice”.
The looting scenes are massively relayed on social networks, popular with young audiences. “We have seen on several of them, Snapchat, Tiktok, both the organization of rallies being done, but a form of mimicry of violence”, pointed out the head of state.
A meeting in the presence of Gérald Darmanin and Jean-Noël Barrot (Digital Transition) is to be held Friday at 6:30 p.m. in Beauvau with the digital platforms, “in order to alert them to their responsibility and ask for their support, in particular to identify users of social networks that participate in the commission of offences.