Addressing the French public on Sunday evening, President Emmanuel Macron said he felt “anger and shame” over the scenes of destruction, questioning how French citizens could turn against their own country.
“En regardant ces images, nous nous sommes tous posé la question : qu’est-ce qui leur est passé par la tête ? Comment des Français peuvent-ils faire ça à la France?”
The French President said that nothing could justify the violence, looting and destruction witnessed across the country, vowing that those responsible would face consequences.
“Rien ne justifie, rien n’explique, rien n’excuse”, he said, condemning the attacks on businesses and public buildings, including town halls and police facilities.
President Macron blamed radical far-left groups and criminal elements for exploiting the protests, arguing that their actions had prevented peaceful demonstrators from expressing their grievances. He insisted that the right to demonstrate could not be used as a justification for violence against people, businesses or public institutions.
The President also announced that he had ordered a review to determine whether there had been failures in intelligence gathering or police preparedness ahead of the unrest. He said local authorities, including prefects and mayors, would be given greater powers to prohibit certain gatherings when necessary to prevent further violence.
President Macron further called on the government to bring together students, teachers, parliamentarians, trade union representatives and business leaders during the coming week to formulate proposals addressing the crisis.
“Nous devons nous mettre autour de la table et construire ensemble des solutions”, he said.
The President gave his address after demonstrations against the cost of living and deteriorating public services escalated into widespread violence on Saturday. The protests attracted an estimated 550,000 to 800,000 people nationwide, according to figures from the authorities and organisers respectively.
At least 1,800 people had been arrested by Sunday.
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