Emmanuel Macron admitted yesterday, after analyzing the causes of the recent riots, led by very young people, that “our country needs a return to authority in all areas, first of all within the family”. The French president considered that authority must return to schools, public officials and the security forces. “The lesson I take from it is: order, order, order”, he emphasized.
The Head of State was jointly interviewed by two television channels, TF1 and France 2, a few hours after landing in Nouméa, capital of New Caledonia, a French territory in the South Pacific. It was a strange format to address the country and comment on the recent changes in the Government and the consequences of the outbreak of violence almost a month ago.
Macron defended his management and that of the Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, during the serious street disturbances and acts of looting. The president recalled that in 2005 the riots lasted three weeks and this time, only four days – although the destruction has now been much more important – and that on this occasion, unlike 18 years ago, it was not necessary to restrict freedoms through the establishment of a state of emergency.
On the reshuffle of the Cabinet, Macron expressed his confidence in the Prime Minister, Élisabeth Borne, and stressed that the adjustments were made for the imperative of “efficiency”. The head of the Élysée warned that “there is no majority for change”, so it will be necessary to continue with projects and reforms for the country even though the Macronists no longer have an absolute majority in the National Assembly. Macron confirmed that one of the most important initiatives will be a new immigration law that better protects borders, but is also flexible to integrate and to fill labor shortages in sectors such as agriculture, construction or catering.
Macron did not want to specify what his proposal would be to unblock the situation in New Caledonia, where there are two communities of similar weight, the Canaca (mostly pro-independence) and the one of European origin, in favor of continuing in France. Three referendums in the last five years have for the time being closed the door to full sovereignty, although the issue is not closed. The president reiterated that his trip aims to affirm France’s “presence” and “projection” in the Indian and Pacific region, in the territories where nearly 1.5 million people live under its sovereignty and where Paris has deployed thousands of soldiers.
The conservative and far-right opposition criticized Macron after the interview. According to Éric Ciotti, leader of Els Republicans, the president insists on talking and talking, but these are “useless” words in the face of “the gravity of the situation”, which “requires facts”. The far-right deputy Sébastien Cornu regretted that Macron is demanding a return to authority when “in six years he has not made any structured proposal”.