French PM to meet unions as government prepares for more protests

• French PM Sebastien Lecornu will meet unions on Oct 21 after riots and curfews, and promised a “massive” police deployment for new protests over living costs.
• France has seen looting, arson and arrests, with nearly 150 jailed and more than 800 brought before courts. A parliamentary inquiry will examine failures.
• The unrest has shaken politics and markets, with travel warnings from several countries, criticism of police response, and investors selling French debt amid spending worries.

PARIS – France’s Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu plans to meet unions on Oct 21 to discuss security and has vowed a “massive” police deployment at protests, following riots in the past week that led to curfews and arrests.

The eurozone’s second-largest economy was rocked on the weekend by some of its worst rioting in recent years, just six months before voters head to the polls to elect a successor to President Emmanuel Macron.

Lecornu will meet with representatives from five unions on the morning of Oct 21 to discuss “ways and means to guarantee the essential freedom to demonstrate” according to a letter sent to the organisations, which noted some were attempting to subvert the protests with “unacceptable acts”.

More protests centred over rising living costs are planned on Oct 24, organised by the “Yellow Vest” movement and high school students, with another called for Nov 5 by labour unions.

School students have not been invited to the meeting on Oct 21.

Images of clashes, mobs looting stores and public buildings set ablaze last weekend prompted several countries, including the United States, China and Germany, to issue travel advisories for their citizens in France.

Facing angry lawmakers in Parliament, Lecornu acknowledged that the security response had fallen short and promised a stronger approach ahead of the new wave of protests.

“The deployment for next Saturday will be massive,” Lecornu said.

Arrests and investigations

French authorities announced on Oct 19 partial curfews in Paris and other cities, and Lecornu said fresh ones would be imposed on Oct 20 where needed.

The night-time curfew in the capital, from 9pm GMT on Oct 20 (5am Singapore time on Oct 21), applied to Republique square in the centre-east and Les Halles shopping district in the centre.

A ban on public gatherings was also ordered for the Champs-Elysees, near several public buildings, and at train stations.

Paris police ordered a temporary ban on people carrying cans or bottles of petrol or gas, after mobs set fire to government buildings and shops last weekend.

Security forces arrested a man believed to be connected to the ultra-left over the burning down of a historic town hall in Limoges, whose destruction has become a symbol of the violence.

The authorities have faced criticism from parties across the political spectrum, with far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen describing the unrest as a “wake-up call” that exposed a “profound crisis” of authority.

Recent polling suggests Le Pen leading first-round presidential voting intentions by a wide margin and far-left candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon emerging as the strongest contender for the runoff.

Lecornu has accused ultra-left radical groups of forging an “insurrectionary plan” that led to the riots.

In a sign of growing political scrutiny over the street violence, lawmakers from across France’s fractured Parliament agreed on Oct 20 to launch a parliamentary inquiry into the unrest, including possible intelligence failures, policing tactics and the government’s preparedness.

Investors have sold off French debt in recent weeks amid rising doubts about the government’s ability to rein in spending.

Nearly 150 people had been jailed and more than 800 brought before the courts, according to the justice minister.

Interior Minister Laurent Nunez offered to resign on Oct 18, saying police “had lost control” during the unrest. Macron rejected his resignation and Nunez was also set to attend meeting on Oct 21 with union representatives.

Other European countries have seen demonstrations over rising prices, with smaller clashes breaking out in Italy’s financial centre of Milan as well as in Belgium over the weekend.

US President Donald Trump has seized on the unrest in France to amplify his anti-immigration and anti-Islam rhetoric, at a time when his Republican party is facing headwinds in upcoming midterm elections.

Trump launched into a lengthy tirade at a midterms rally on Oct 19 in Kansas, saying France was being “conquered, looted, and burnt to the ground by migrants, jihadists, and communists”.

Several analysts have countered Trump’s rhetoric, saying immigration was not a driving force in France’s unrest. AFP