Macron holds emergency cabinet meeting after rioters trash Arc de Triomphe
French president Emmanuel Macron held emergency talks with police and security officials today after surveying the damage at the Arc de Triomphe, which was ransacked by rioters over the weekend.
TV footage on Sunday showed the inside of the iconic monument bearing the scars of the weekend's violence in Paris in which hundreds of people were injured.
Anti-capitalist statements and demands for the president’s resignation were graffitied on the outside of the monument, while cars were burned and properties damaged across the capital.
Paris has been plagued with civil unrest in recent days, which began on 17 November with the so-called gilets jaunes (yellow vests) demanding a reversal of increases to fuel tax.
Luxury cars were burnt out, shop windows smashed and cafes vandalised throughout the weekend prompting police to use stun grenades, tear gas and water cannons to try to quell the violence. Police said they had arrested more than 400 people in Paris, while 133 were reportedly injured.
As he returned from the G20 summit in Buenos Aires, Macron inspected the damage and later met his prime minister and interior minister to decide how to prevent further rioting, government spokesman Benjamin Griveaux said.
One option would be to impose a state of emergency, Griveaux confirmed, which gives the president extra powers to deploy armed guards in public spaces, and allows police to search homes without a warrant.
The last state of emergency only concluded a year ago, after five extensions following the 2015 Paris attacks, in which 130 people were killed by Islamist terrorists.
“We have to think about measures that can be taken so that these incidents don’t happen again,” Griveaux said to Europe 1 radio.
The government is reportedly open to dialogue with protesters but will not reverse its policies, which are designed to encourage motorists to drive more fuel efficient cars in a bid to fight climate change and improve air quality.
“It is out of the question that each weekend becomes a meeting or ritual for violence,” he added.
Griveaux urged protesters to come to the negotiating table and said the yellow vest movement should disassociate itself from radical, anti-capitalist groups which have reportedly led the violence.
But on fuel tax hikes, the government remained defiant. “We won’t change course. It’s the right direction. We are certain of that,” Griveaux said.
An Elsyee Palace source later claimed a state of emergency was not considered, with discussions instead focusing on adapting security for any future protests, according to Reuters.
Protests have spread across the country, with tens of thousands of people involved, blocking roads and denying access to shopping malls, factories and fuel depots.