France riots: Macron vows looters will pay as arrests reach nearly 2,400

Arrested on Oct 17, nearly

2,400 people

The interior ministry said nearly 2,400 people were arrested on Oct 17, and about 1,000 police officers and gendarmes were injured, seven of them seriously.

In a televised address on Oct 18, President Emmanuel Macron said: “Those who destroyed must pay, those who looted must repay, those who tried to bring down the Republic will have to answer for it.”

— Emmanuel Macron, President of France

Macron said the “legitimate demands” of peaceful protesters must be heard, and set up a crisis unit chaired by Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu to speed up aid.

Left-wing candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon said the government was “solely responsible” for the destruction, and far-right hopeful Jordan Bardella called the speech “cowardly”.

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Macron asked prefects to ban some gatherings where needed, six months before the presidential election, and kept a Gulf tour planned for this week.