France is tightening security measures after a weekend of violent protests over rising living costs and deteriorating public services escalated into rioting, arson and looting across several cities.
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weekend → tighten → cities
French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said on Monday that he had asked local authorities to impose limited, localised curfews to prevent further violence, while President
Emmanuel Macron ordered a review of security failures and rejected the resignation of interior minister Laurent Nuñez.
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Macron → say → Nuñez
Authorities reported that more than 2,400 people were arrested nationwide over the weekend, with hundreds of businesses looted or damaged and public buildings targeted.
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buildings → report → businesses
The government has acknowledged shortcomings in anticipating the unrest, while promising changes to policing and investigations to identify those responsible.
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government → acknowledge → those
European governments have also issued travel advisories urging their citizens in France to avoid demonstrations and large gatherings.
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governments → issue → demonstrations
French PM orders localised curfews
Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said on Monday that he had asked some municipalities to introduce partial curfews following the weekend's violent protests.
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he → order → protests
According to the news agency Associated Press (AP), Lecornu instructed prefects to impose “very limited” and “localized” curfews in cities to prevent further rioting and looting.
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Lecornu → accord → rioting
Speaking after an emergency meeting with senior government officials, Lecornu said: “On Saturday, despite scenes of severe violence and extensive property damage, no one was killed, and that is a miracle.”
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that → speak → violence
He defended the work of police officers who faced violent groups and said he was fully resolved to restoring public order.
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he → defend → order
Lecornu also said that furlough measures would be available to businesses affected by the protests from Tuesday onwards.
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measures → say → Tuesday
He added that the government had no plans to cancel the Paris Saint-Germain-Barcelona football match scheduled for Tuesday.
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government → add → Tuesday
The prime minister said a state of emergency remained an option if the situation warranted it: “If declaring a state of emergency is deemed necessary, we would do so.”
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we → say → emergency
Macron rejects interior minister's resignation
President Emmanuel Macron has rejected interior minister Laurent Nuñez's resignation following the violence, saying continued leadership of law enforcement was necessary during the current situation.
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leadership → reject → situation
Nuñez offered to resign over the weekend's rioting and looting but Macron refused, according to a statement from the French presidency.
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Macron → offer → presidency
The president instructed Nuñez to “take all necessary steps to ensure full transparency about the failures in planning and intelligence-gathering that led to the violence”.
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that → instruct → violence
Macron also called for “new policing tactics on the ground as quickly as possible” to prevent further violent incidents.
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Macron → call → incidents
Nuñez acknowledged shortcomings in the authorities' preparations, saying there had been a “lack of anticipation” in deploying security forces.
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Nuñez → acknowledge → forces
He said the police response needed to adapt to “extremely mobile groups” of rioters.
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response → say → rioters
“I submitted my resignation because I am responsible for everything that is happening,” Nuñez said on France Inter radio on Monday.
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Nuñez → submit → Monday
He added, “Now, the real issue is ensuring that this doesn’t happen again. …
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this → add → ?
We obviously need to be better at anticipating the kind of mobilization that is unfolding.”
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that → need → mobilization
Nuñez also acknowledged that police had lost control in some major cities on Saturday, telling the broadcaster: “You can’t look shopkeepers in the eye when hundreds of businesses have been looted and say we haven’t lost control in some of these major cities.
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we → acknowledge → cities
More than 2,400 arrested
The unrest affected Paris, Marseille, Lyon, Limoges and other French cities, with groups of people setting fires, looting shops and targeting public buildings.
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groups → arrest → buildings
Authorities said demonstrators and groups of rioters attacked city halls and other public offices.
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demonstrators → say → halls
People set fire to rubbish bins, bicycles and other objects in Paris on Sunday, while businesses were looted in several cities.
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businesses → set → cities
In Limoges, flames engulfed the 19th-century City Hall, causing its roof to collapse and nearly destroying the building.
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roof → engulf → building
In Marseille, some protesters briefly forced their way into the City Hall lobby, while a police station was damaged.
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station → force → lobby
A fire also broke out inside a tourist office in Lyon.
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fire → break → Lyon
More than 2,400 people were arrested nationwide, according to figures reported by AP.
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people → arrest → AP
Justice minister Gérald Darmanin put the number taken into police custody over the weekend at more than 2,330, with around 70% of them adults.
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% → put → them
Paris Mayor Emmanuel Grégoire said around 30 shops had been targeted in the capital on Sunday, describing the scenes as “unbearable”.
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shops → say → scenes
More than 2,000 shops were expected to have been affected across France, with damage estimated at hundreds of millions of euros, according to Alain Di Crescenzo, president of the chamber of commerce.
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damage → expect → commerce
The unrest also caused injuries.
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unrest → cause → injuries
Almost 1,000 members of the security forces were injured.
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members → injure → forces
A 17-year-old girl lost an eye during protests in eastern France, while another young demonstrator lost a hand in Saint-Étienne.
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demonstrator → lose → Étienne
Police use of grenades and other crowd-control weapons has also come under scrutiny.
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use → come → scrutiny
Marseille bans public gatherings
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Marseille → ban → gatherings
Authorities in Marseille imposed a ban on public gatherings and demonstrations from noon to 8 pm local time on Monday following violent protests and looting over the weekend.
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Authorities → impose → weekend
The measure was announced by the local administration.
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measure → announce → administration
Olympique de Marseille said its official store on La Canebière, the city's historic main avenue, had been looted during the unrest.
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store → say → unrest
…and 44 more, not listed.
The Aporia
