French PM Lecornu Sets Aside Emergency Rule, Implements Curfews Instead

French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu implemented curfews in certain cities on Monday, 19 October, following a crisis meeting he convened; he set aside the declaration of a state of emergency for now, calling it "disproportionate" to current conditions.

Lecornu said: "The state of emergency is an extremely serious measure; we will apply it if necessary, but for now a curfew is more appropriate."

Across France over the weekend, businesses were looted, public buildings were set on fire, and clashes erupted between demonstrators and police. According to figures released by Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez, at least 550,000 people took to the streets nationwide, 2,000 were detained, and over 500 police and firefighters were injured.

The unrest began in mid-September at the Saint-Exupéry secondary school in Créteil, a southeastern suburb of Paris: teachers went on strike citing staff shortages, which coincided with students blockading the school, and widespread economic discontent spread the spark rapidly. A wave of riots that began in the Paris suburbs in 2005 had shown similar momentum — but in that crisis, the government declared a 12-day state of emergency.

Lecornu's government's decision to avoid a state of emergency this time stems from its wish not to lower the threshold for constitutional oversight of extraordinary powers.