How to quell the riots? Macron's ability and determination are being tested. Macron | Emergency state | Ability
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On June 27th, in the city of Nantes in the Haute Seine department of France, a police officer stopped a car and opened fire, resulting in the death of a 17-year-old driver. This incident has sparked strong reactions from various sectors in France. Since the evening of the 28th, various cities in France have been experiencing varying degrees of unrest. Accompanying this is a scene of escalating violence in multiple cities within France on social networks: buses, trams, and vehicles being burned down, police stations and city halls being targeted, various buildings being set on fire, shops being robbed, and the Fresness prison being attacked. On the evening of the 30th local time, even a bus carrying Chinese tourists was affected in Marseille, surrounded and attacked by rioters, and several tourists were lightly injured. This group of tourists went to Switzerland before July 1st and ended their trip early to return home.
On the morning of June 30th, French President Macron left the EU Summer Summit held in Brussels, Belgium early and returned to the É lys é e Palace to hold an inter ministerial coordination meeting. He called the current unrest "violent behavior against the French system" and "unacceptable", stating that all measures will be taken to maintain national order. The French Prime Minister's Office immediately announced in the afternoon that the government had decided to cancel all major events nationwide in response to the ongoing spread of unrest.
The 2005 Paris suburban riots reappeared
In November 2005, three boys in the suburbs of Paris fled police pursuit and ran into a substation in a panic. They were accidentally electrocuted, resulting in two deaths and one serious injury, which immediately triggered a large-scale and ongoing riot. Similar to this riot, most violent acts occurred at night, which also increased the difficulty of police work.
At that time, most international media and commentators attributed the cause of the riots to the dissatisfaction caused by the wealth gap, educational conditions, and employment environment of immigrants living in the suburbs, as well as the deepening opposition caused by long-standing policies of ethnic, religious, and cultural identity. However, domestic media in France believe that the long-standing prevalence of violent behavior, the use of language to conceal under the guidance of "political correctness" to avoid facing various events, the legal state having to "surrender" to public opinion, and political elites giving up their mission to cater to the so-called "public opinion" for the sake of votes are the deeper reasons. In France, party struggles have also led to criticism from both inside and outside the party by then Interior Minister Sarkozy for his efforts to "eliminate" the "rabble" in the suburbs.
Today's riots have shown scenes very similar to those of 2005: the deaths of ethnic minorities have sparked a surge in public opinion, and have once again sparked ongoing riots in the suburbs. And some young people who are dissatisfied with the previous government's many reform measures also take this opportunity to vent their dissatisfaction through violence. But in today's France, social and political conflicts are more prominent, and since Macron took office, he has lacked convincing achievements in domestic politics. It may be even more difficult to quell the current situation in a short period of time.
The situation may become even worse
This series of situations has not changed in the past 20 years, including the fragmentation of social classes, language deception under "political correctness", and the political class's "submission" to public opinion and "public opinion". From a government perspective, although Macron and Prime Minister Borne have shown a tough stance in their statements, they lack the courage to take strong measures. The Minister of the Interior, Darmanin, who was directly responsible for this incident, is also unable to demonstrate a tough stance in upholding the rule of law like the former Minister of the Interior, Sarkozy.
From a societal perspective, the aftermath of protests caused by the reform of the retirement system has not yet been eliminated; High domestic inflation caused by the COVID-19 epidemic and the Ukrainian crisis; The lack of significant improvement in employment rates among young people, especially among the second and third generations of young immigrants living in the suburbs, has made it impossible to bridge the current fragmentation of French society. And social networks have exacerbated this fragmentation in a sense: the BLM in the United States has set a precedent for minority resistance among French youth, and the promotion of various forms of violence on social networks has not been effectively regulated. On the contrary, the violent behavior of the police during the law enforcement process has been excessively publicized, further deepening the gap between the public and law enforcement officers.
From the perspective of the rule of law, although the investigation into whether law enforcement officers fired excessively at the time is still ongoing, the police union has stood against the government. In recent years, the "Yellow Vest" movement, various protest activities against epidemic prevention and control measures, and retirement system reforms have caused French police officers to be in a high workload working environment for a long time. While their income has not increased and they are involved in retirement system reforms, the dissatisfaction within the police with the government is also increasing. Faced with the overwhelming public opinion caused by this law enforcement incident, as well as the lack of support for the police in the government's statements, the dissatisfaction of the police community towards the government is increasing. In addition, with the upcoming summer vacation, the dissatisfaction of the police community, who are unable to take leave due to riots and have increased workload, may further intensify.
From a political perspective, since Macron came to power, traditional left-right political parties have been severely affected. The leader of the far left, Meron Xiong, is already old, while the far right has diverged due to the rise of Zemour. Marina Le Pen also lost her position as the chairman of the National Alliance party. The lack of leading figures in opposition parties has led to a serious polarization in attitudes towards this incident: within the left-wing coalition, Socialist Party Secretary Olivier Foer stated in a video that he "fully understands" the anger expressed in "the despised and neglected territories of the republic," and "solemnly calls for the restoration of calm," while Merrondo believes that Macron's remarks in an interview "cannot conceal the responsibility of those who create this situation," and "an escalation of security measures will lead to disasters."; The right wing has expressed support to the police involved, with Le Pen criticizing the Macron administration on Twitter for "abandoning constitutional principles due to fear of unrest, which will exacerbate the unrest." Republican Chairman Eric Theotti called on the Macron administration to "enter a state of emergency without hesitation.".
However, in the face of the growing public resentment since the "Yellow Vest" campaign, the COVID-19 and the Ukrainian crisis, as well as the dissatisfaction of the police group as law enforcers, Makron's current measures may not be able to come up with a solution to eliminate the internal dissatisfaction of riot participants and law enforcers in a short time.
The French government is facing difficult choices
Macron's attempt to delay the resolution of this incident in a "muddled" manner may fail, which is why he had to withdraw from the EU summer summit and return to France after not returning to his home country to resolve the issue in the first place.
From Macron's current choices, the left-wing tone remains strong: he did not immediately and decisively cite Act 55 to declare a state of emergency for the country, but instead deployed 40000 security personnel in an attempt to quell the unrest. However, given the current situation, the measures taken by the French government may not achieve the expected results. However, if the country is declared to be in a state of emergency, it will face many tests. First, France is still recovering from the energy crisis and inflation crisis caused by the COVID-19 epidemic and the Ukrainian crisis. Entering the state of emergency will not only directly affect the economy, but also have negative effects on foreign investment assets; Secondly, in the reform of the retirement system, Macron directly adopted Article 49.3 of the Constitution and forcibly passed the retirement system reform measures, which has sparked criticism both domestically and internationally on whether it meets the "democratic values". If the "55 Act" is used to declare the country into a state of emergency, the relevant provisions that strengthen government power may further harm its "democratic" image; Thirdly, at the political level, Macron's biggest enemies are still the traditional right and far right. In the face of calls from traditional right-wing Republican and far right representatives Zemour and Le Pen for Macron to declare a state of emergency, surrendering to the opinions of the right will also have a negative impact on Macron's personal image and the political future of his party.
In the absence of "hardliners" like Sarkozy in the past to take responsibility for him within the party, Macron once again demonstrated his shortcomings in domestic governance in the face of this difficult decision. His call for "parents to take responsibility" has a strong sense of "calling parents". From the current perspective, Macron seems to lack the determination and ability to quickly quell this riot.
