French President Emmanuel Macron released a statement on Saturday afternoon denouncing violent rioters who defaced national landmarks and attacked law enforcement officers in an escalation of protests that began last month.
“No room for violence in our Republic,” he said, referencing the increasingly hostile clashes between protesters and police that began largely as student-led protests about education policies. “Those who have broken, attacked the prefectures as well as businesses, looted even our town halls, will be prosecuted.”
Notable acts of violence broke out across Paris, Marseilles, Lyon, and other French cities throughout Saturday to protest the high cost of living, rising energy prices, and, at least in the protests’ original intent, understaffing at high schools and a lack of educational resources. Rioters broke into City Hall in Marseilles and knocked over a bust of Marianne, a longtime symbol of the Republic, while a tourism office in Lyon was also broken into and set ablaze. A town hall in the small city of Ligomes is “largely lost” after being set on fire, a top regional official told AFP.
“To the law enforcement forces, guarantors of the right to demonstrate, I express the support of the nation,” Macron also said. “We will all stand united against the sowers of chaos, who seek only to bring down our institutions and prevent those who peacefully express their demands from doing so.” He had said last week young people’s “legitimate concerns” were being “exploited for political purposes and turned into urban violence.”
French Prime Minister Sebastian Lecornu said during the week the student movement was “instrumentalized by the allies” of left-wing figure Jean-Luc Melenchon, who attended a protest this week. France’s right-wing figurehead Marine Le Pen said the rioters have “poisoned” the original demonstrations “in defense of purchasing power.” Elections are scheduled for the spring to replace the term-limited Macron.
“Legitimate social demands have once again been held hostage by the far left and the speeches of Jean-Luc Melenchon’s deputies, who, by legitimizing violence, viewing order as oppression and disorder as a right, seek to plunge the country into chaos,” she said.
FRANCE GRIPPED BY VIOLENT STUDENT RIOTS ATTRIBUTED TO FAR-LEFT INSTIGATION
Firefighters and police were deployed across the country to put out the various fires and subdue the mostly masked protesters. Looters seized on the protests to loot stores and shops in Paris and other cities, according to AFP.
The protesters also vandalized a statue of Joan of Arc in Paris, according to videos on social media. The riots spread into other European countries last week, including Greece, Italy, and Belgium.
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[ H/T Washington Examiner ]
