Macron Refuses Interior Minister Nuñez's Resignation After Riots, Cites 'Failures in Anticipation and Intelligence'

Since Saturday's nationwide riots, which ended in about 2,400 arrests, the government has moved from condemning the violence to admitting it was caught flat-footed. On Monday, Oct. 19, the Élysée Palace said Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez submitted his resignation on Sunday and that President Emmanuel Macron turned it down.

The presidency's reason: "the need for continuous command of the security forces in the current context."

The statement did not stop at keeping Nuñez. It asked him to "take all necessary steps to ensure transparency over the failures in planning and intelligence that led to the violence." It also told him to put in place "new operational methods for security forces," as quickly as possible, against looters and violent rioters.

The Élysée has not said what those methods are.

Nuñez: 'I am responsible for everything'

Nuñez explained his offer on France Inter radio. "I am the minister of the interior, I am responsible for everything that happens on the ground," he said.

He admitted police "lost control" in some cities. He also conceded a "lack of anticipation" in how available security forces were deployed.

On X, he drew a line between protest and destruction: "The right to protest is a fundamental right. Deliberately and collectively sowing disorder through violence is not."

The government's handling has drawn criticism from local leaders, including the mayors of Paris, Marseille and Limoges, according to Anadolu Agency's account. Nuñez is expected to visit Marseille. Authorities there reported that up to 30,000 people were involved in looting on Saturday.

The damage bill

The Federation of Commerce and Distribution says around 1,500 businesses were targeted on Saturday. It puts estimated losses at several hundred million euros.

Limoges City Hall, a 19th-century building, was engulfed by a fire that authorities said was deliberately set. Its roof collapsed and the building was nearly destroyed. Marseille's city hall was stormed, and a tourist office in Lyon was burned.

Unrest did not end with Saturday. Late Sunday, further clashes and looting were reported in Paris, Lyon and Marseille. Paris police arrested 92 people by about midnight after incidents near Place de la République. Prosecutors said 557 of the 855 people arrested in the Paris region were still in police custody.

Turnout on Saturday was about 550,000 by official estimates and about 800,000 by the organisers' count.

Crisis meeting and Gulf trip

Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu was scheduled to chair an interministerial crisis meeting at 10:00 CEST on Monday. The agenda covers the economic impact, business damage, insurance questions and the legal proceedings now under way.

Macron, meanwhile, is going ahead with his Gulf tour. He is due to visit Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Qatar to secure oil and diesel supplies and push down fuel prices.

In his Sunday address, Macron separated the several hundred thousand citizens who marched with "legitimate demands" from those who destroyed and looted. He said looters "will have to pay back for the damage." He also said he had instructed prefects to work with mayors to protect public buildings and businesses in the coming weeks, including by banning protests when necessary.

Criticism from the right

The president's critics say he has not owned the failure. Breitbart argued that Macron took no personal accountability in his address, blamed the far left and the Iran conflict, and ignored what it called the role of mass immigration in building support for the unrest. That outlet's characterization of the rioters' backgrounds is its own, and the sources contain no official data on who took part in the looting.

Marine Le Pen has warned of a threat to democracy and attacked what she called an exhausted Macronist power. Fox News reported that Macron was also criticized for attending a Céline Dion concert in Nanterre on Friday night, the eve of the protests, according to French media. Macron had spent Thursday and Friday at a European Council meeting in Brussels. At a Friday news conference there he called for "calm and respect" ahead of Saturday's marches.

Macron's own defense is in the Élysée statement. Keeping Nuñez in place, the presidency says, preserves a chain of command while the crisis continues. The same statement concedes the failures in anticipation and intelligence that critics point to.

What comes next

Several questions remain unanswered. The Élysée has not said who will review the intelligence and planning failures or when the findings will be made public. It has not said what the new operational methods will involve.

Macron had previously ruled out a curfew. Nuñez's Marseille visit and the outcome of Lecornu's crisis meeting are the next tests of whether the government can show a different approach on the streets before the next planned protest.