French President Emmanuel Macro raises the alarm for another tense weekend in France. The head of Elise warned that a new wave of protests this weekend could become dangerous, as unions are calling for nationwide mobilization on October 31st.
We know that next Saturday is still a high-risk day. We also know November 5th will be a day of national mobilization involving all trade unions, and there are other Saturdays ahead. It’s not meant to be a chronic situation every Saturday, but everything has to be taken into consideration. We’re going to be organized to protect people, cities, businesses. This is a mobilization of all of us.
During his visit to Marseilles this Monday, Macron acknowledged that authorities had not predicted the scale of the escalation of previous protests. We had not anticipated what happened at all, the president declared, referring to the mobilization of extreme leftist groups and violent acts that, according to him, added to the protests.
The French president raised concern about how social networks have affected the escalation of the situation. It also raised concerns about the habitulation of violence, when images of disasters are distributed and consumed massively online.
Social networks are damaging our democracies because they create a kind of numbness in the face of violence, and for some, they are means of mobilizing toward the worst. They are used, especially on October 17th, to bring young people to crime sites, assault, robbery. And today, there may be great confusion, a permanent form that is taking place, an enthralling of violence. We have to break this cycle. )
Macron announced that manifestation routes would be directed outside city centres to protect businesses and prevent material damage.
The French president praised that during the October 24th protests public order was better preserved, but stressed that the situation remains uncertain.
Macron added that he had asked the government to respond to legitimate requests at the root of this social movement, remembering that Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu would meet with representatives of the high school community, writes abcnews.al.
According to French Interior Minister 1,435 people were arrested throughout the country during Saturday’s demonstrations. He also disclosed that several cities have recorded clashes between organised right-wing groups and extreme left-wing activists.
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Source Layer: Signal