France sends in troops as Paris simmers in aftermath of riots

Paris: Troops will be deployed to reinforce police in a bid to quell riots on French streets after an outcry over the violence last weekend and a growing political debate about a breakdown in social cohesion.

The French government outlined longer curfews and tougher measures to stop gangs of masked rioters looting stores and trashing buildings, as authorities began clearing burnt cars and other wreckage from city streets.

The unrest is shaping the race for the presidency at national elections due early next year, with a new poll showing that right-wing leader Marine Le Pen has gained more ground in her quest to replace President Emmanuel Macron.

The curfews in Paris helped police regain control of key areas where they clashed with protesters on Saturday and Sunday, and brought relative calm to the French capital.

But business owners around the Place de la Republique, a focal point for the destruction, expressed anger at police for failing to come to their help when looters ransacked their stores.

Shop owners cleared debris and installed timber sheets to replace smashed windows on Tuesday, with some telling this masthead they feared more protests and therefore more looting.

“It’s not over,” said store owner Kevin as he spoke to this masthead at a manga store he manages on Rue Voltaire, one block from the Place de la Republique.

“It’s too easy for them,” he said of the looters. He said he and his colleagues called the police five times on Saturday night to try to stop the thieves breaking into the store, but were told the authorities were overwhelmed with the task of confronting rioters in other parts of Paris.

Kevin, who asked not to give his surname, said the thieves were not random protesters because they targeted his store, Manga Story, knowing that some of the items he stocked, such as Pokémon cards, could be sold easily online at high prices.

The cards at the store included rare items priced at up to €3000 ($4800), he said, and the looters appeared to know what they were looking for.

A store next door with manga products at lower prices, without the rare items, was not looted.

Some of the cards stolen from Manga Story were seen listed for sale at online marketplaces soon after the looting, Kevin said, and he called police to investigate.

Stores selling brand-name clothing and footwear, including Lacoste, Tommy Hilfiger, New Balance and Hoka, were among those ransacked in wealthy parts of Paris, while some watch stores were also targeted.

While some rioters were motivated by theft, others were driven by political agendas including far-left ideology.

Police in the southern city of Limoges announced on Tuesday that the suspect in the destruction of the historic town hall in an arson attack on Saturday night, was a member of an “ultra-left” group who had been on a security watch list.

More protests coming

New protests are being planned for this Saturday by left-wing groups involved in the “yellow vest” rallies over the cost of living in 2018, which featured some violence but not the widespread looting seen last weekend.

The Gilets Jaunes (“yellow vest”) movement is calling on the government to lower fuel prices and the cost of other household essentials.

Some protesters in the Place de la Republique in recent days have shown support for the Gilets Jaunes, but many have confronted police, and some have looted stores with no apparent political objective.

Workers arrived on Tuesday morning to clean graffiti from the statue in the centre of the square, a symbol of the French Republic, and remove a plastic decoration resembling a yellow vest.

French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu promised a “massive” deployment this Saturday to ensure control in the event of further protests and possible violence.

‘These thousands of rioters couldn’t care less about the ongoing social movement or the high school students’ demands. They are there only to strike, burn, and smash.’

Raphael Glucksmann, co-leader of centrist Place Publique Party

The government’s response is the subject of fierce criticism, however, as President Emmanuel Macron has chosen to continue with a state visit to Qatar rather than stay in Paris to deal with the unrest on the streets.

National Rally, the right-wing party that holds a significant lead in opinion polls, is accusing the government of being too slow to respond to the protests and subsequent riots, while also blaming left-wing parties for encouraging the activists who destroyed property.

The first major poll since the Saturday riots showed Le Pen and the National Rally with a slightly bigger lead in the presidential contest, at between 34 and 38 per cent, according to research firm Ifop for Le Figaro.

Polling for the French presidential election is complicated because voters cast ballots in two rounds, allowing a large field of candidates in the first round, but Ifop said its research showed a clear outcome.

“In the second round, Marine Le Pen would win in all the head-to-head scenarios tested,” it said.

The riots have highlighted the role of left-wing leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon, who heads La France Insoumise (France Unbowed) and has joined protesters at rallies over the past month.

While the government has called on Mélenchon to condemn the violence, National Rally president Jordan Bardella went further on Tuesday by demanding all political leaders reject a key slogan of the rioters, who have spray-painted the acronym “ACAB” as they stormed through streets.

This masthead saw “ACAB” on buildings around Place de la Republique and other parts of Paris. It stands for “all cops are bastards” and highlights the willingness of the rioters to confront the police, as they did on Saturday and Sunday.

“The far-left militias have become the armed branch of La France Insoumise,” said Bardella on Tuesday night (about 7.30am on Wednesday, AEST).

“LFI-elected officials legitimise violence when they refuse to condemn the slogan ACAB.”

The Ifop polling for Le Figaro found that Mélenchon would come second in all scenarios tested for the presidential election, and lose to Le Pen with between 15 and 20 per cent of the vote.

A centrist candidate, Raphaël Glucksmann, gained ground in the latest polling and has between 12 and 16 per cent support.

Glucksmann was quick to warn of the threat to stable government when the riots spread on Saturday.

“It is the republic that is under attack. The ultra-violence that the entire country is witnessing is unprecedented,” he said on Saturday night.

“These thousands of rioters couldn’t care less about the ongoing social movement or the high school students’ demands. They are there only to strike, burn, and smash.”

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