Macron Rejects Interior Minister’s Resignation After Violent France Protests
publishers 42articles 43first reported 19 Oct, 05:53 UTCdeveloping since 19 Oct · 9 editions
French President Emmanuel Macron rejected Interior Minister Laurent Nunez’s offer to resign on Monday after nationwide protests over education conditions and the cost of living descended into rioting and looting over the weekend.
The Elysee said Macron asked Nunez to remain in office to preserve the chain of command in the police and security forces. He also ordered the minister to develop new methods for confronting looters and to ensure transparency over failures in planning and intelligence.
Nunez acknowledged that police had “lost control” in some major cities and said authorities had not anticipated the scale of the unrest. About 60,000 law enforcement officers were deployed on Saturday, but Nunez said their numbers were insufficient to contain rioters operating on the fringes of demonstrations involving more than half a million people.
The Interior Ministry said more than 2,300 people were arrested over the weekend and almost 1,000 police officers and gendarmes were injured on Saturday. Protesters were also injured. Looting, arson and property damage were reported in several cities, including attacks on shops, town halls, police stations and other government buildings.
The demonstrations brought together students protesting overcrowded classrooms, teacher shortages and underinvestment in education with residents angered by rising living costs and deteriorating public services. Looting continued Sunday, including attacks on about 30 shops in Paris.
Macron also criticized comments from U.S. President Donald Trump and other foreign leaders blaming the unrest on migrants, describing such claims as “stupid” and accusing foreign politicians of exploiting the riots for political gain.
HOW THIS STORY WAS MADE
Written from 8 articles, 1 with the publisher's own text; 8 independent newsrooms once syndicated copies count as one; this version written 60 h after the record first saw the story; the editor kept it as written.
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- Given to the writer
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- This version written
- 60 h after the record first saw the story
- Second model (editor)
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WHAT THE EDITOR DID
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