Emmanuel Macron hammered Tuesday, before the mayors of 250 cities affected by nearly a week of riots, that his “absolute priority” went to the restoration of a “sustainable order”, being “very cautious” on the ebb observed violence and the end of the crisis. “Is the return to calm lasting? I will still be very careful for the days and weeks to come,” said the Head of State, according to participants in the meeting, while considering that the “peak “of the first evenings was “past”.
In front of an audience of elected officials from all sides, including some from the right and far right, who have been delivering the same message since the start of the riots, he insisted: “It is the lasting, republican order that we all want, to which we are going to get down to work”, “including with exceptional means”. The night riots broke out on June 27, hours after the death of Nahel, a 17-year-old teenager shot at point-blank range by a police motorcyclist during a traffic check in Nanterre (Hauts-de-Seine). ).
Thirteen “serious attacks” on elected officials
Clashes with the police, burning of town halls, schools, police stations and looting of shops then multiplied throughout France, culminating in the attack on the home of Vincent Jeanbrun, LR mayor of L’Haÿ-les- Roses (Val-de-Marne), before a drop set in over the past two nights. “Even if calm has returned, I consider that we cannot act as if nothing had happened”, insisted the president, expressing “the support, the esteem and the recognition of the Nation” to elected officials attacked in an “unspeakable” way.
Thirteen “serious attacks” on elected officials have been identified, said Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin on Tuesday morning, before the deputies of the majority, citing the mayors of L’Haÿ-les-Roses and Pontoise (Val d’Oise ). Emmanuel Macron now intends to carry out “meticulous work” to “understand in depth the reasons which led to these events”, “before drawing conclusions”, according to the Elysée.
“Nothing was done”
Since the start of the meeting at 12:00 p.m., very direct exchanges have continued between the elected officials, who tear off the microphones to speak, and the Head of State, seated opposite them and taking notes, have recounted attendees. “Right-wing mayors offer right-wing solutions, authority, education, left-wing mayors offer left-wing solutions, more money,” said Eric Straumann, LR mayor of Colmar (Haut-Rhin), who left before the end. at AFP. For Patrick Jarry, DVG mayor of Nanterre, “the working conditions and the mission of the police are an essential project”.
Patricia Tordjman, communist mayor of Gentilly (Val-de-Marne), challenged the president frontally, believing that “nothing has been done” since he was elected in 2017, “worse we are withdrawn from the means. Society is rocking”, she was alarmed by the young age of the rioters. Jean-François Copé, LR mayor of Meaux, “does not believe in social riots, the riot of hunger”. acts of uncontrolled madness”, he launched, deploring a decline in “authority” because we are “making us feel guilty about colonization”. And to estimate: the “Republic does not have to excuse, she has already done a lot for the neighborhoods”.
At the end of these exchanges, the President will take stock of the situation at the end of the afternoon with Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne and a few government ministers, who risk being put to the test during the questions to the National Assembly. The Ministry of the Interior noted a new sharp decline in violence during the night from Monday to Tuesday, with 72 people arrested, against up to several hundred at the height of the violence.
“Financial sanctions” of families
Monday evening, in front of the police, the Head of State also said he was considering “financial sanctions” for families at “the first offense”, a “kind of minimum price from the first bullshit” of their child, taking up an antiphon from the right. The government also said it was open to “cancellations” of social and tax contributions “on a case-by-case basis” for vandalized businesses. “When your business has been completely burned, it is the work of a lifetime that is reduced to ashes, the state must be on your side”, launched the Minister of Economy Bruno Le Maire during a meeting. a trip to Essonne. At the government’s request, insurers have agreed to “consider deductible reductions”, he added.
According to France Assureurs, 5,800 claims had been declared Tuesday morning following the riots, both by professionals and individuals. The main French employers’ organizations are calling on the government to set up a “relief fund” for traders and entrepreneurs who “have lost everything”. According to figures sent to AFP on Tuesday by the Ministry of the Interior, 3,486 people were arrested, 12,202 vehicles burned, 1,105 buildings burned or damaged and 209 premises of the national police, the gendarmerie or the municipal police attacked since the night of June 27 to 28. A total of 374 people have been tried in immediate appearance since Friday, according to the Ministry of Justice.