Macronist elected officials are cautiously approaching the question of how to end the crisis in the face of the riots that have shaken France since Wednesday.
Like a perilous ridge line. Three days after the death of Nahel, killed by a policeman, and the riots that have hit France since Wednesday, the presidential majority must navigate between the demand for great firmness from the right and the far right, which are demanding the establishment of the state of emergency, and that of the left, which calls on them to reverse the 2017 law making the use of firearms more flexible for the police. “It’s always more uncomfortable to be in charge. Collectively, it’s not easy”concedes Shannon Seban, president of Renaissance in Seine-Saint-Denis.
A key word has dominated in Macronie since the death of the teenager: caution. “Above all, we must not add fuel to the fire and we must have a very measured public voice.explains Renaissance MP Louis Margueritte. A word said incorrectly or in the wrong context can get us in trouble.” Everyone remembers the images of the riots which in the fall of 2005 set the working-class neighborhoods ablaze for long weeks. “We came together to immediately take sides with the victim. We had to avoid the blunders of 2005”blows an adviser to the executive.
Over days punctuated by an onslaught of violence, the presidential speech gradually stiffened. After having mentioned “the emotion of the whole nation” Wednesday noon, facing a death “inexplicable” And “inexcusable”, Emmanuel Macron changed his vocabulary on Friday, June 30. During a meeting of the interministerial crisis unit, the Head of State said he was ready to adapt “without taboo” the policing strategy for dealing with a situation “unacceptable and unjustifiable”. A speech followed by his supporters. “There is first the time of calm and appeasement of the situation”defends Renaissance MP Mounir Belhamiti. “We must be extremely firm in the police response, the majority of French people want us to return to a republican order”thunders his colleague Anne-Laurence Petel.
“Let us recognize when we have made a mistake”
Politicians are already thinking about what to do next, even though it still seems very vague. It will be necessary to act once the emotion, the anger and the violence have passed. But not now, of course. “We cannot make decisions in an epidermal way”warns Anne-Laurence Petel.
What will need to change in a few days or weeks? To the credit of the majority, there is certainly the duplication of CP classes, the Educational Cities label and other measures that elected officials cite at will. But the time will not really be for complacency. “We will obviously have feedback on many things that we are going through”Judge Louis Margueritte. “We will have to learn, collectively, and recognize when we have made mistakes, to question ourselves”anticipates Shannon Seban.
Because it is the whole record of Emmanuel Macron and the government in terms of urban policy that is today examined and called into question. The one who wanted to end “house arrest” in working-class neighborhoods and who declared himself a presidential candidate in November 2016 from Bobigny, in Seine-Saint-Denis, is now accused of not having honored his promises. Even the Quartiers 2030 system, presented at the same time as the riots, is already seeing its ambition reduced. “You have to go faster and stronger, no dead hand!”argues Shannon Seban.
“If the Quartiers 2030 system has to be adapted according to what is currently happening, the door is wide open.”
Shannon Seban, president of Renaissance in Seine-Saint-Denisat franceinfo
There is, on the other hand, an area where Renaissance reacts vigorously, without waiting: against La France insoumise, the anger of the majority growls in the face of what it calls a “disgusting instrumentalization” of Nahel’s death. The far-left party did not firmly call for calm, “a scandalous attitude” for Louis Marguerite. Renaissance and LFI have since engaged in cascading confrontations, even when the microphone and the camera are cut off. Thursday evening, on leaving a television set, MP Louis Boyard described his counterpart Nadia Hai and the members of the presidential camp as “servants of the bourgeois”, before dealing with them “assholes” when leaving the premises. “They play puppets, they are odious, insulting, contemptuous”, Shannon Seban gets carried away.
“We sail on sight”
Within the majority, the deputies even castigate “the call for insurrection” “rebellious”. “The more the days pass, the more we realize that they are on the side of chaos”thunders the local elected official. “The rantings against LFI will not hide the responsibility of those who created this situation”replied Jean-Luc Mélenchon in the face of attacks on Friday on Twitter.
The next few days promise to be decisive for the government. “We will see the next few days, the reshuffle can be postponed”, imagine an adviser. The time is uncertain, while it is currently impossible to detect a way out towards a return to calm. For the executive, the concern is at its height. “We sail by sightsighs an executive adviser. Emmanuel Macron must go to the set of ‘8 p.m.’ on Sunday evening.”
“Perhaps a solemn intervention by the President of the Republic will change things.”
Mounir Belhamiti, Renaissance MPat franceinfo
Pending a possible speech by the Head of State to the nation, Elisabeth Borne announced on Friday the cancellation of major events, while Gérald Darmanin asked the prefects to stop buses and trams in 9 p.m. throughout France. The deputies of the majority contacted by franceinfo, them, will play the discretion. “I maintain what I planned this weekend”explains Mounir Belhamiti, who travels in his constituency “without drums or trumpets”. “You have to do it discreetly”abounds Louis Margueritte, as a very high-risk weekend begins.