Paris police imposed a nighttime curfew in two areas of the French capital on Monday, following a weekend of unrest that was France’s worst in years, targeting city hall, other public buildings and thousands of businesses across the country.
A Paris police statement said the order aimed to protect “people and property from violence and robbery.”
The curfew prohibits anyone from entering or staying in Place de la République, where rioting occurred on Saturday, and in the Les Harris shopping district, which was hit by looting.
The curfew is from 11pm Monday to 6am Tuesday. In addition, Paris police said that rallies and demonstrations will be banned from 8 p.m.
Earlier on Monday, Prime Minister Sebastian Le Cornu called for a “very limited” and “local” curfew.
In northern France, local authorities imposed a curfew on children and teenagers under 18 in several cities, including Lille, starting on Monday and lasting from 8pm to 6am for the next two days; Nice on the French Riviera also imposed an overnight curfew on minors starting at 9pm
Lecornu defended the police’s handling of the unrest, saying “it’s a miracle that no one died despite the severe violence and widespread property damage.”
He said details of the curfew would be announced later Monday after consultation with the mayor.
Massive protests in France have often erupted into violence on the fringes of otherwise peaceful marches, leading to clashes with police.
Saturday’s unrest was reminiscent of unrest in 2023 after the police shooting of a teenager when authorities imposed a local curfew, as well as violence in 2018 during the Yellow Vest movement that began over fuel prices and wider economic discontent.
Macron rejects resignation of interior minister
The prime minister issued the directive after Interior Minister Laurent Nunez tendered his resignation on Sunday. But President Emmanuel Macron rejected the request “given the need to continue directing law enforcement in the current circumstances,” his office said in a statement on Monday.
He directed Nunez to “take all necessary steps to ensure full transparency of the circumstances that led to the failure of planning and intelligence gathering that led to the violence,” the statement said.
Macron also called for “new policing strategies to be adopted on the ground as soon as possible” to end the violence.
On Sunday night, groups set fire to trash cans, bicycles and other items in the streets and looted shops in Paris, Lyon, Marseille and other cities.
It comes after violence broke out on Saturday at nationwide protests over rising living costs and poor school conditions. At least 2,400 people have been arrested across the country.
Authorities estimated on Monday that at least 3,000 businesses in multiple cities had been vandalized or looted.
In Marseille, the prefect banned any protests or other gatherings from noon to 8pm on Monday.
“I submitted my resignation because I take responsibility for what happened,” Nunez told France Internationale.
“The real question now is making sure this never happens again… We clearly need to do a better job of anticipating the mobilizations that are unfolding.”
Nunez blamed the violence on “hordes of troublemakers and looters” and “far-left activists” and said police tactics needed to adapt “in the face of extremely mobile groups.”
Authorities said groups of several hundred sought confrontations with police and attacked public buildings, including City Hall and other public offices.
Shop owner assesses damage
Nunez acknowledged that authorities “lost control” in some major cities on Saturday.
“When hundreds of businesses are being looted, you can’t look the owners in the eye and say we’re not out of control in some of these major cities,” Nunez said.
Flames engulfed Limoges’ 19th-century town hall in central France, causing its roof to collapse and nearly destroying the building.
Cleaning crews and firefighters cleared the streets of Paris of broken glass and other debris on Monday.
Ouri Zagoury, the owner of a video game store near Paris’ Place de la République, said he closed his store on Saturday afternoon but then saw on surveillance cameras that looters forced their way in.
“There were a lot of people coming in and out. Even when I called the police, they said not to intervene and they would come, but they never did and that’s another problem,” Zagouri said.
Jordan Bardella, president of the far-right National Rally party, pointed to the government’s failure to prevent violence.
“The government has failed, the head of state has failed in his basic duty to protect the French people,” he told reporters at party headquarters.
“I am now calling on the French people, in addition to their right to protest, to use their right to vote,” said Bardella, who is running with far-right leader Marine Le Pen, whose polling data has for months shown her to be the frontrunner in next spring’s presidential election.