France's interior minister has firmly denied claims that police protected far-right groups during a weekend of protests, after left-wing politicians accused officers of standing by while armed far-right gangs attacked passers-by.
Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez told broadcaster BFMTV on Monday: "I want to put an end to these rumours once and for all. Of course, the police did not protect them. At no point did they cooperate with police officers or gendarmes." He said far-right, Identitarian and nationalist groups had called supporters into city centres, ostensibly to protect shops from looting, and that police did witness clashes and put a stop to them.
What the left alleges
Manuel Bompard, coordinator of the left-wing party La France Insoumise, alleged that all demonstrations in Nice had been banned "with the exception of the fascists, who were able to roam the city armed with knives and iron bars and attack passers-by." In a post on X, he questioned whether the far-right groups were being protected by the interior minister or by Nice's right-wing mayor. According to the newspaper Libération, right-wing groups mobilised in more than a dozen cities over the weekend.
Arrests in Nice — and clashes elsewhere
The public prosecutor's office in Nice announced that 11 people linked to the far right had been arrested on suspicion of violent offences. One is a minor who will appear before a juvenile court; the 10 adults are due in court on charges of forming a criminal association and carrying weapons, with prosecutors seeking remand in custody. In total, 61 people were arrested in Nice during the day, three people were injured in the clashes and two police officers were hurt, local reports said. In Rouen, prosecutors opened an investigation into aggravated violence after video showed nationalist militants beating a man following the October 24 demonstration. The row escalated further when La France Insoumise deputy Mathilde Panot called Nuñez "a liar" alongside a video from Nancy, and Green Party leader Marine Tondelier said she was "extremely shocked" by what she called impunity for far-right movements compared with the repression of student protests.
The wider unrest — and the government's response
The row comes after weeks of often violent mass protests over education funding and rising living costs. France's government pledged on Monday to replace its national online university admissions platform — "substantial change" next year, full replacement in 2028 — alongside up to 4 billion euros ($4.5 billion) in loans for school renovations, smaller classes, more teaching posts and increased student grants, according to the Associated Press. Two high school student groups welcomed some concessions but called for protests to continue, after meeting Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu on Monday. The movement, which began with student blockades in mid-September, has widened to workers demanding relief from living costs, and about 2,400 people were arrested in connection with the October 17 demonstrations, when hundreds of thousands marched peacefully but some set fires, looted shops and clashed with police.
The takeaway: Both sides now agree on one thing — the streets became a battleground over the weekend. What they fiercely dispute is whose side the police were on, and the Nice court cases may decide that argument.
Watch: Footage of the October 24 street clashes between nationalists and protesters in French cities.
Music in this post's reel: Kevin MacLeod - Movement Proposition (incompetech.com), licensed under CC BY 3.0
Sources: Qatar Tribune / dpa, ETV Bharat / AP, Manila Times / AP.