Macron rejects interior minister’s resignation after unrest across France

French President Emmanuel Macron refused Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez’s resignation on Monday, 19 October, after a weekend of unrest across France that led to at least 2,400 arrests. The Élysée said Nuñez had offered to step down on Sunday, but Macron wanted law-enforcement leadership to continue during the crisis.

The president instructed Nuñez to ensure transparency over what the Élysée called failures in security planning and intelligence that led to the violence. He also asked the minister to introduce new operational methods for security forces, according to the statement quoted by France 24. The statement did not specify the methods.

Pressure on Laurent Nuñez after the unrest

France 24 reported that town halls burned and hundreds of businesses were looted or damaged during the unrest. In Limoges, protesters stormed and set fire to the town hall, destroying the 19th-century building, according to The Guardian. The paper also reported that a town hall in Lille was targeted and that protesters arrived there to force entry.

Macron’s response to protesters and policing

Macron said ‘nothing justifies’ violence, while distinguishing people demonstrating peacefully over the cost of living and education from those who destroy and loot, The Guardian reported. He said local state officials could ban some street gatherings if they considered it necessary. Protests also took place in Spain, Italy and Portugal.

Opposition politicians questioned the government’s policing tactics and said there had been a lack of state intelligence. The Guardian reported that officials and police were under pressure over their response as the government held crisis talks. Macron’s instructions keep that response under Nuñez’s leadership while requiring him to account for the failures the Élysée identified.