Pak Sahafat – Guardian wrote that French President Emmanuel Macron is facing the biggest challenge of his second term of office and is trying to establish “stable order” in a country that is deeply divided.
According to Pak Sahafat News Agency’s report on Wednesday, the Guardian newspaper, referring to the challenge that arose as a result of the killing of an African-American teenager by the police, added: Emmanuel Macron announced on Tuesday that he has set aside a fund to help rebuild burned buildings and public services, but questions remain about how deep social and political divisions in France run.
This newspaper wrote: 13-year-olds clashed with the police all over the country. While hundreds of public buildings were set on fire, more than 5,000 cars were burned, 3,400 people were arrested, many schools were damaged, 150 post offices were attacked, more than 11,000 fires were set, started, 2 thousand shops were looted and about 1 billion euros were damaged to businesses.
More than 800 policemen were injured, and the poorest areas of the country were left with only ash from buildings – from libraries to community centers.
Macron is facing many problems: First, the issue of national image. In the midst of deep mistrust of the country’s politics, crises have accumulated one after another, from the protests of the green vests in 2018 to 2019, to the million-strong demonstrations against Macron’s plan to increase the retirement age to 64.
Macron’s diplomatic agenda has also been overshadowed: he had to leave the Brussels summit early and postponed an official trip to Germany. This is while he could not welcome Charles the King of England in the midst of protests against the retirement age.
Deep-rooted divisions in French politics now seem more profound than ever. Since Macron’s centrist party lost its overall majority in parliament in 2022 legislative elections, the government’s ability to pass laws has been limited.
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On Tuesday, when Macron met with more than 250 mayors who faced widespread destruction in their cities and regions during the protests; their pleas for help highlighted deep political divisions.
A government official said Macron now wants to listen “carefully” to the politicians on the scene and try to understand the complex causes of the unrest before making any proposals.
His immediate priority in the coming days is to restore what the government source called “stable order.” More than 45,000 police officers patrol day and night, and the situation has not calmed down yet. Unlike the events of 2005 when two young Frenchmen were killed, Macron deliberately did not declare a state of emergency. The two youths were hiding in the electricity substation of Kilishi Su-Boa area because they were afraid of the police, and they died due to electrocution.
According to human rights groups, the French government, on the contrary, claims that only one police officer did not respect the law and that there is no problem of systematic lawlessness among the police.