PARIS — French President Emmanuel Macron said that France should focus on restoring order and shoring up the authority of parents in its response to the riots that rocked French suburbs last month.
“The lesson I draw is order, order, order. Our country needs a return of authority at every level, and firstly in the family,” Macron said during an interview with French channels TF1 and France 2 on Monday.
Last month, the fatal shooting of Nahel M., a 17-year-old of North African descent, during a police operation sparked several days of unrest in France’s poorer suburbs, with young rioters often targeting symbols of the French state such as schools, police stations and even libraries.
The unrest sparked a debate about the failing authority of parents, with members of government warning that parents would have to pay for the damage caused by their children.
According to the French president, the average age of youths arrested during the riots was 16 and an overwhelming majority came from “fragile family settings” such as single-parent families or placements in care homes.
While Macron remained vague on what measures he was planning, he pledged to “make families act more responsibly and help other families who are struggling.”
The stance will likely appeal to French conservatives and the far right who have been calling for a tough response to the chaos in the suburbs. The comments came a couple of days after a minor government reshuffle that saw Elisabeth Borne maintain her position as prime minister and the appointment of new health and education ministers.
In the interview, which took place during a visit to the French overseas territory of New Caledonia, Macron also came out in support of the police but sidestepped a controversy over strikes by police in the port city of Marseille that was triggered by the arrest of an officer accused of assault during the riots.
“Our police officers faced an unprecedented level of violence: 900 were injured [during the riots] and 28 investigations were launched [against them]…We need some perspective here,” Macron said.
