DREAM / The Prime Minister resigns and wakes up under the Parisian bridge!

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2026-10-21 18:30:40Pikëpamje SHKRUAR NGA FINANCIAL TIMES

Financial Times editorial

The shocking violence highlights deepening social divisions, financial constraints and a crisis of leadership.

Even for a country accustomed to mass protests, the violent riots and looting that erupted across France over the weekend were shocking. Some 2,400 people were arrested and at least 3,000 shops and businesses were looted or damaged.

The mobs stormed municipal buildings or set them on fire, giving the violence the character of an uprising. The already severely weakened authority of President Emmanuel Macron now lies amid the still-blackened ruins of Limoges' city hall, a 19th-century building that the mob set ablaze.

The government has blamed radical left-wing extremists and criminal elements for inciting the unrest that followed a day of largely peaceful protests against falling living standards, deteriorating public services and a range of other grievances. Anti-capitalist anarchists of the so-called black bloc may indeed have played a role in the violence.

Undoubtedly, the casseurs, as the French call people who cause destruction, and the occasional looters seeking material gain or just a thrill, were also part of it. Each of them bears responsibility for the senseless chaos and destruction. But the government must also bear a significant share of the blame for a colossal failure of the police and intelligence services.

Authorities severely underestimated the scale of Saturday's protests and the presence of troublemakers.

The police forces deployed were inadequate and, in some cases, inadequately equipped. Their disorganized way of responding to public unrest is also being questioned. During the weeks of protests by high school students, the police occasionally used harsh and disproportionate methods. This time, their forces proved insufficient to cope with the situation. On Monday, Macron rejected the resignation of Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez, who had previously held a senior position in the Paris Police. Other ministers have resigned for much less.

This wave of rampant street violence creates the image of a government that has lost control. It erodes public trust in state authorities, undermines business confidence, and damages France's international reputation, with potentially serious consequences for its important tourism industry.

Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu, who has no parliamentary majority, and the president, who lacks popular support, can realistically do little in the final months of their term before elections next spring. But at the very least, they must ensure the country's security. On Monday, Lecornu called for local restrictions on movement during certain hours to prevent further unrest, and did not rule out declaring a state of emergency.

One of the reasons the government has struggled to quell the high school student protests, which now threaten to turn into a much broader movement, is a lack of money to address the problem. Traditionally, French governments have responded to social unrest with financial measures.

Macron managed to secure around 11 billion euros in concessions and financial support to quell the Yellow Vest protests in 2018–2019. This time, the state coffers are truly empty.

Bond markets are putting increasing pressure on Paris as investors worry about the lack of an agreed plan to stabilize debt.

The government aims to implement a combination of spending cuts and tax increases worth 43 billion euros in next year's budget. Any attempt to exit the crisis through new public spending could backfire, triggering another wave of government bond sales and rising borrowing costs.

With just six months left until the presidential election, the protests and violent clashes of recent weeks have strengthened political extremes in France while weakening the center.

For the leader of the far-right, Marine Le Pen, the perception of a government losing control is a political gift.

Her party has blamed immigration for the violence, highlighting its worst tendencies. Yet it is hard to argue with Le Pen's description of a presidency that is "depleted, exhausted and disoriented."

Meanwhile, the leader of the radical left, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, has encouraged the protests and used them to boost his appeal as an anti-establishment candidate, although the weekend unrest could curb his recent surge in the polls.

Édouard Philippe, the leading figure of the political center, has been damaged by his association with a weak government and is struggling to define a new political direction that is convincing to voters.

Indeed, the widespread discontent and explosive atmosphere have revealed the depth of France's social problems.

Unfortunately, none of the candidates seem to know what needs to be done to actually solve them.


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