Amid escalating riots in French cities, President Emmanuel Macron has called on parents to keep teenagers at home to stem the unrest. However, Macron is now under fire for attending an Elton John concert while the disorder was unfolding.
Following the shooting of a 17-year-old boy by police on Tuesday during a traffic stop in the Paris suburb of Nanterre, violent protests broke out.
As a result, widespread demonstrations broke out, with car burnings, stone throwing and fireworks incidents.
Amid this crisis, concerns are being raised about President Macron’s response and attendance at the concert on Wednesday, the day after the shooting.
Macron dancing at the Elton John concert while Paris burned – What has happened to the leaders these days? pic.twitter.com/bZnpv0JYGV
—Ashok Swain (@ashoswai) June 30, 2023
Calls are growing for him to take more decisive action to address the situation.
Elton John’s husband shared photos on social media showing his meeting with Mr. Macron and his wife. Additionally, a video circulating on social media captured Mr. Macron tapping his feet to a rendition of Elton John’s “Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting.”
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These cases have further fueled accusations by his opponents that Macron is distant and out of touch with public realities.
“While France was on fire, Macron was not standing by his interior minister or the police, but he preferred to applaud Elton John,” said Thierry Mariani, a Rally National MEP.
On Friday, Macron blamed social media for fueling copycat violence, saying it had played an “important role in recent days.”
In televised remarks from a crisis meeting, he mentioned TikTok and Snapchat.
“Sometimes we have the feeling that some of them [rioters] they are living in the streets of video games that have intoxicated them,” said the president.
Macron said he would try to remove “the most sensitive types of content” and would ask sites to reveal the identities of people promoting violence.
At least 667 people were arrested across France overnight following a third day of protests over the death of the teenager, named in local reports as Nahel M.
On Thursday, 40,000 police officers were deployed across France, almost four times the number mobilized on Wednesday.
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Little sign of appeal from the government to de-escalate the situation, however, was having any effect.
In Nanterre, where the shooting took place, protesters set cars on fire, blocked streets and hurled projectiles at police after a vigil.
The national police said Thursday night that officers also faced new incidents in other areas of the country, in Marseille, Lyon, Pau, Toulouse and Lille, including fires and fireworks.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn