France imposes curfews in parts of Paris, other cities after nationwide rioting

[PARIS] The French government ordered Monday (Oct 19) night curfews for parts of several cities, including Paris, Nice and Lille, as it tried to reassure citizens after the worst riots in decades erupted across the country.

The curfews were the clearest signs that the government was trying to reassert control in the face of fierce criticism that it had been woefully unprepared to deal with widespread violence and looting that broke out this weekend on the sidelines of large, organised protests.

France’s interior minister, Laurent Nuñez, offered a mea culpa on national radio on Monday, saying police had not been ready for the scale of the riots that spun off from the mostly peaceful protests held across the country.

Nuñez said he had offered his resignation to French President Emmanuel Macron but that it had not been accepted.

The justice minister, Gérald Darmanin, also acknowledged that authorities had “undeniably failed” in the face of the violence – the biggest unrest to hit France in years – and said on French television that there had been “a failure in intelligence”.

Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu struck a different tone on Monday, saying police had done a good job against a “shadowy network” of far-left instigators who he said were seeking to orchestrate “a profound disorder in the country leading up to the presidential election”.

Students started protesting in September to express frustration with the condition of their high schools. Other groups such as labour unions joined the student demonstrations in solidarity and to highlight their own grievances, including the cost of living and rising fuel prices.

But nebulous groups took advantage of the demonstrations to attack government buildings, smash shops and loot on Saturday.

In Paris, the police prefecture ordered a curfew from 11 pm on Monday to 6 am on Tuesday in two areas of the city – a shopping hub that was targeted by looters and the Place de la République, where much of the violence occurred over the weekend.

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It also restricted gatherings starting from 8 pm on Monday in more than a dozen areas of Paris, including around important government buildings such as the presidential palace and the two chambers of parliament, and at various train stations.

The government estimated that at least 3,000 businesses across the country had been pillaged over the weekend, double the figure given on Sunday by the Federation of Commerce and Distribution. NYTIMES