‘Anger and shame’: Macron denounces France’s nationwide rioting, looting

President Macron promises to increase security, but stops short of announcing a state of emergency or curfew.

Macron vows action against protest violence after crisis meeting over France unrest

French President Emmanuel Macron has expressed “anger and shame” over what he described as violent protesters’ attempts “to bring down the republic”.

In a televised address to the nation on Sunday, Macron promised that rioters and looters would “pay for their crimes”, after Saturday saw some of the worst urban violence in France in years.

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The country’s Interior Ministry said that nearly 2,400 people were arrested on Saturday, with about 1,000 police and gendarmes injured.

Macron said there must be a distinction between protesters with “legitimate demands” and “those who destroyed, smashed, and looted”.

The president pledged to launch a “crisis unit” to provide “urgent aid … for those who are going through difficult moments”. He added that “lessons will be learned” after the destructive violence erupted this weekend.

“We need to be clear: yesterday, our law enforcement officers and officials, despite their professionalism, were subjected to unprecedented violence in several cities,” he said.

“I’ve asked the government to provide all the lessons learned and to be able to anticipate it to make sure that this does not happen again,” Macron said, adding: “We need unity, we need calm and respect.”

Protests across France descended into violence and looting across the country [Carl Court/Getty Images]

Reporting from Paris, Al Jazeera’s Natacha Butler said Macron’s speech had “perhaps no surprises”.

“Whether it’s going to be enough to placate some people, I’m not really sure, because those who have been out protesting say they’re fed up of hearing these sorts of speeches by the French president,” Butler said.

The protests are quickly becoming a political football for parties vying for public support ahead of presidential elections next year.

Left-wing presidential candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon said the French government is “solely responsible” for the destruction during protests, and has “failed to organise the maintenance of public order”.

Far-right presidential hopeful Jordan Bardella called Macron’s Sunday speech “lamentable” and “cowardly”, saying the government has nothing left to offer the French people and “cannot even protect them”.

马克龙总统承诺加强安保，但并未宣布进入紧急状态或实施宵禁。

在就法国骚乱召开紧急会议后，马克龙誓言将采取行动打击抗议暴力。

法国总统马克龙对暴力抗议者企图“推翻共和国”的行为表示“愤怒和羞愧”。

周日，马克龙在向全国发表的电视讲话中承诺，暴徒和抢劫者将“为他们的罪行付出代价”。此前，周六法国发生了近年来最严重的城市暴力事件。

图1/3：法国各地抗议活动演变为抢劫、纵火和冲突

巴黎学生领导的抗议活动演变成混乱，令这座城市陷入混乱（共3条，此为第2条）

问题 3（共 3 题）：为什么法国的校园抗议活动演变成一场更广泛的政治危机？

该国内政部表示，周六有近2400人被捕，约1000名警察和宪兵受伤。

马克龙表示，必须区分提出“合法诉求”的抗议者和“破坏、砸毁和抢劫”的人。

总统承诺成立一个“危机应对小组”，为“那些正经历困境的人们提供紧急援助”。他还补充说，在周末爆发破坏性暴力事件后，“将会吸取教训”。

“我们需要明确一点：昨天，尽管我们的执法人员和官员展现了专业精神，但他们在多个城市遭受了前所未有的暴力袭击，”他说。

马克龙说：“我已经要求政府提供所有吸取的教训，并能够预见未来可能发生的情况，以确保此类事件不再发生。”他还补充道：“我们需要团结、冷静和尊重。”

法国各地的抗议活动演变为暴力和抢劫事件。[Carl Court/Getty Images]

半岛电视台记者娜塔莎·巴特勒从巴黎报道称，马克龙的演讲“或许没有什么出人意料之处”。

巴特勒说：“我不太确定这是否足以安抚一些人，因为那些走上街头抗议的人说，他们已经厌倦了听到法国总统发表这类演讲。”

这些抗议活动正迅速成为各政党争夺公众支持的政治工具，这些政党都在为明年的总统选举做准备。

左翼总统候选人让-吕克·梅朗雄表示，法国政府对示威活动中的破坏负有“全部责任”，并且“未能组织维护公共秩序”。

极右翼总统候选人乔丹·巴尔德拉称马克龙周日的讲话“令人遗憾”且“懦弱”，并表示政府已经没有什么可以提供给法国人民了，“甚至无法保护他们”。