Macron condemns mass riots in France, at least 400 people detained
French President Emmanuel Macron sharply condemned the riots that broke out during mass protests against rising prices and pledged to hold accountable everyone involved in the vandalism and attacks on government institutions.
As 1news.az reports, the French leader wrote about this on the social network X.
"There is no place for violence in our republic. Those who took part in the vandalism, attacked prefectures and stores, and engaged in looting, including in city hall buildings, will be brought to justice and will be punished," Macron stated.
The president emphasized that the actions of radically minded participants in the riots prevent peaceful demonstrators from expressing their demands. He also expressed support for law enforcement officers, calling them the guarantors of citizens' right to hold demonstrations.
In turn, French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez reported that at least 400 people had been detained during the riots across the country.
"At this point, we are talking about 400 detainees. But these are only preliminary figures," the head of the Interior Ministry noted.
According to him, the majority of those detained are adults. Nuñez assured that law enforcement agencies will continue to identify and search for participants in the vandalism who managed to flee.
The most serious clashes occurred, in particular, in the city of Lille. As the radio station RTL reported, a group of protesters smashed glass doors and burst into the city hall building. Some participants in the action ransacked the inside of the building and then fled. A few minutes later, officers from special police units arrived at the scene.
Fierce clashes between police and several hundred demonstrators also took place in the center of Lille.
Mass protests against rising fuel prices and the decline in the population's purchasing power were held across France on October 17.
According to the Interior Ministry, 110 demonstrations took place in the country with the participation of about 550,000 people, of whom 110,000 took to the streets of Paris. At the same time, only some of the actions were officially approved by the authorities.
In a number of cities, peaceful demonstrations escalated into riots and clashes with police.
