Riots: Macron takes responsibility for parents and social media

French President Macron has called for the removal of calls for violence on social media after the third night of riots in a row. He also appealed to the parents. However, he did not declare a national emergency.

After the third night of unrest across France, President Emmanuel Macron explicitly addressed parents in the country. A third of those arrested last night are very young, he said after an interministerial crisis meeting in Paris. “And I appeal to the sense of responsibility of mothers and fathers. The Republic is not called to take their place,” said the President.

No national emergency

Observers had suspected that Macron could impose a national emergency after the crisis meeting. Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne had previously announced that she would examine “all hypotheses” in order to quickly return to the “republican order” – she had not ruled out the declaration of a nationwide state of emergency. However, the French government initially decided that the Interior Ministry should use “additional resources”.

In addition, festivals and gatherings are to be canceled in the most affected regions. This is intended to protect people but also public buildings such as town halls from attacks, according to Macron.

Local traffic stopped at night

Part of the local transport in the Paris metropolitan area will now be interrupted in the evenings until further notice. All trams and buses must stop by 9 p.m. at the latest in consultation with the police, the responsible authority said on Twitter. In the city of Clamart, southwest of the capital, there is a night curfew between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. until July 3.

The Federal Foreign Office has updated its travel and safety information for France because of the serious riots. “Inform yourself about the current situation at the place of your stay and avoid large areas of violent riots,” says the published notice for travelers to France. This applies to some districts and suburbs of Paris, especially in Nanterre, as well as other larger cities in France.

“Violent gatherings organized on social networks”

The President also blamed social networks for the escalation of violence in recent days. Violent gatherings were organized there. He also has the feeling that some young people imitate video games on the street. Macron announced that the authorities will take action against people who use social networks to incite riots.

According to the French Ministry of the Interior, around 40,000 police officers were on duty last night, around 5,000 of them in Paris. Despite the increased security precautions, there were clashes with the police in several cities such as Paris, Marseille, Lyon, Toulouse and Lille. 249 emergency services were injured, Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin announced. However, no one suffered serious injuries.

Cars were set on fire and barricades were erected in the streets. Shop windows were smashed in Paris. As the newspaper “Le Monde” further reported, several buses were set on fire in Aubervilliers near the capital, whereupon the operation of several lines was temporarily suspended or restricted.

A bus was also shot at with fireworks in Grenoble. The employees of the transport company then stopped work. In the port city of Marseille, hundreds of protesters clashed with the police during the night and shops were looted. Police fired tear gas when clashes broke out with youths, La Provence newspaper reported.

875 people arrested

The Interior Ministry announced that 875 people were arrested during the night. There were 408 arrests in Paris and the suburbs.

“Tonight our police officers, gendarmes and firefighters once again courageously opposed extraordinary violence,” said Interior Minister Darmanin. According to his instructions, they cracked down on rioters. He thanked all members of the police and gendarmerie who had once again opposed the violence “with courage” last night.

As “Le Monde” reported, the President of the Regional Council of Île-de-France, Valérie Pécresse, announced emergency aid of 20 million euros. The sum was intended to eliminate the damage caused in the region, which also includes Paris, as quickly as possible.

17-year-old shot dead by police officer

Three days ago, a 17-year-old boy of North African descent was in the working-class suburb of Nanterre in Paris killed by a shot from a police officer’s gun.

A motorcycle patrol stopped the youngster at the wheel of a car on Tuesday morning. When he suddenly drove off, the deadly shot fell from the police officer’s service weapon.

The public prosecutor’s office has initiated proceedings against the officer on suspicion of manslaughter. He was taken into custody. The use of the weapon in the control was not justified, the prosecutor said.

With information from Julia Borutta, ARD Studio Paris