Criticism following violence in France: “Security fiasco”
Benoît Payan, Mayor of Marseille, describes the weekend’s riots as “unprecedented scenes of violence.” Photo: Aurelien Morissard / AP
A security fiasco.
That is how the Mayor of Marseille describes the police response during the violent riots in France.
“We are an embarrassment to Europe,” says Benoît Payan.
Nearly 1,000 police officers were injured during the violent protests in France over the weekend, and a great number of shops were looted.
In an article for the French newspaper *Libération*, the mayors of Paris, Marseille, and Lyon—Emmanuel Grégoire, Benoît Payan, and Grégory Doucet—write that “entire sections” of their cities were left unprotected.
They are demanding answers as to why the police did not intervene to stop the looting, which in some instances continued for up to 30 minutes. At the same time, they wish to initiate a dialogue with the high school students who are protesting.
Benoît Payan, Mayor of Marseille, describes the weekend’s riots as “unprecedented scenes of violence.” In Marseille, demonstrators attacked a police station and broke into the city hall.
“I thought about the very idea of what the Republic stands for in this country—an idea that has now been shattered. No one is capable of listening to anyone else anymore. We have turned both police officers and protesters into cannon fodder,” Payan told BFMTV.
“Ready for guerrilla warfare”
He labels the situation a security fiasco and states that there were too few police officers on the ground. The mayor of Limoges, Guillaume Guérin, is also calling for more resources for the police. In his city, masked men set fire to the old town hall.
"We must realize that, since the beginning of these demonstrations, we have been dealing with extremely motivated individuals—driven by hatred—who are trained and prepared for urban guerrilla warfare," says Guillaume Guérin.
He adds:
"I never want to have to relive what I went through this weekend."
Blaming the far-left
French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez admits that the police "lost control" in some cities over the weekend.
"I accept my share of the responsibility. But one must not forget the looters, the vandals, and the violent far-left," Nuñez told France Inter.
He is echoed by Marine Le Pen, the far-right presidential candidate, who has previously stated that the protests have been "hijacked by the far-left."
However, Paris public prosecutor Laure Beccuau told TF1 that she "absolutely cannot confirm" any link between the arrested rioters and the political far-left. She notes that most of those arrested are relatively unknown to the police and have not cited any political motives.
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