“It’s the Republic that will win, not the rioters”, declares Gérald Darmanin, who announces 471 arrests in the evening

2023-07-01 07:23:48

“The Republic will win, not the rioters”, declares Gérald Darmanin who announces 471 arrests in the evening

Asked live on BFM-TV in Mantes-la-Jolie where he came “meet once again the police and the gendarmes to greet them and thank them for their extremely difficult work in this complicated period for our country”the Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, took stock of the situation at the heart of a night when he noted “a much lower intensity than during the day yesterday and even the day before yesterday”.

“As we speak, we are at 471 arrests on the national territory”, he said, reporting a quieter evening in Ile-de-France but denouncing “unacceptable violence in Lyon and Marseille where a hundred people were arrested.

The Minister welcomed the many means implemented to try to stem the violence (in particular 45,000 people mobilized).

“It’s the Republic that will win, not the rioters”he said, lamenting the young age of many rioters, “ kids aged 13, 14 (…) who would obviously do better to be at home rather than hanging out in the streets”.

“The Ministry of the Interior is ready to further increase its position of strength if ever things were to deteriorate, which is not the case tonight”added Mr. Darmanin, who remained cautious about the possibility of declaring a state of emergency, a device that “has been summoned four times in sixty years”he recalled, mentioning that in 2005, during previous popular riots, the device was deployed on the tenth day.

“I do not confuse the few hundred, the few thousand delinquents, often very young unfortunately, with the vast majority of our compatriots who live in working-class neighborhoods, who want to work and educate their children”he concluded.