France will reinforce police with troops and mount a huge security operation for more protests planned on Saturday, the government said on Tuesday, acknowledging failures in its response to last weekend’s violence.
“The deployment next Saturday will be massive,” Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu said, adding that the immediate priority was to restore order after rioting and looting swept Paris, Marseille, Lyon and other cities on October 17.
In a sometimes rowdy debate, Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said the military would be deployed alongside police, while the government pledged to overhaul tactics after widespread criticism that city centres had been left vulnerable.
TARGETED CURFEWS HELP RESTORE CALM
Framing the crisis as a choice “between violence and the Republic”, Lecornu blamed the unrest on far-left groups, who in turn have accused the government of underestimating public anger over high living costs and declining public services.
The turmoil shocked France because of both its scale and the apparent inability of police to contain it, inflaming tensions ahead of presidential elections next year with candidates from the far right and hard left performing strongly in polls.
Protests in other European countries, including Italy and Albania, have added to concerns that anger over living standards risks spreading around the continent at a time when many nations, including France, are struggling with budget woes.
A night of relative calm in France followed targeted curfews imposed in several areas affected by the chaos, which the government said had helped reassert control. The localised curfews, some directed at children and teenagers under age 18, were extended to Tuesday night, police said.
Lecornu acknowledged shortcomings in the state’s response at the weekend, saying there had been intelligence failures, while police deployments had been too static and authorities had erred by not cancelling planned police leave.
Nunez apologised for the mistakes. “I deeply regret what happened. I accept my share of responsibility,” he said.
SUSPECT ARRESTED FOR LIMOGES TOWN HALL DESTRUCTION
Parliament is setting up a commission of inquiry to establish the causes of the unrest, while authorities have assigned 200 investigators to identify and track down those involved in the street violence.
Police arrested on Tuesday a man suspected of starting a blaze that destroyed a historic town hall in the central city of Limoges during the rioting. Officials said he had been on a security watch list and belonged to an ultra-left group.
