In response to recent riots brought on by the police shooting of a teenage driver to death, President Emmanuel Macron stated on Monday that France needed a “return to authority at every level.”
Last month’s killing of Nahel M., 17, during a traffic stop, which sparked protests, riots, and looting, led to accusations that the government had allowed an institutionalized racism in the police force to grow.
“The lesson I draw from this is order, order, order”, Macron said, denouncing “the burning of schools, city halls, gyms, and libraries.”
During a visit to the overseas French territory of New Caledonia, Macron said on French television that “order must prevail” and that “there is no freedom without order.”
“Our country needs a return to authority at every level, starting with the family,” Macron added.
Additionally, the president reiterated his prior criticism of social media’s role in the riots and looting, claiming that “public digital order” was required “to stop excesses.”
Macron sparked outrage earlier this month with calls to “cut off” social media amid widespread unrest.
He claimed that most young people planned gatherings and riots using social media.
Macron further said more money needed to be put into giving young people alternatives to protesting and inciting unrest.
“We must invest massively in our youth to provide them with a framework,” he said.
Nearly half of the approximately 1,300 individuals facing legal action for their alleged involvement in the riots are minors.
The debate on law and order, immigration, racism, and police brutality was sparked by the most severe urban violence since 2005.
Source-France24
