French President Emmanuel Macron has called for “calm and order” after one of the most violent days of unrest in the recent past in the European nation, after largely peaceful anti-government protests turned into rioting and looting, leaving two people dead. In a national address from the Elysee Palace, Macron said “nothing justifies” the “unbridled violence” as police arrested around 2,400 people in cities across the country.
“Those who destroyed must pay.
Echoing other government officials in blaming much of the violence on far-left activists, Macron said the law would be brought to bear on those who had participated in rioting or damaged property. Those who looted will have to pay for the damage, and those who sought to bring down the Republic will be held accountable,” he said in a televised address to the nation. The president also denounced “unrestrained violence” by “insurrectionist elements from radical far-left groups, joined by numerous criminals. “Watching these images, we have all asked ourselves, how could French people do this to France?” he said in a televised address. The mayors of Paris, Marseille and Lyon, the three largest cities, requested a meeting with the prime minister in the coming days “given the extent of the damage and the seriousness of the situation.”
The Opposition
Le Pen said the troubles showed that Macron’s administration was “running on fumes, exhausted and disoriented”.
