PARIS – France’s interior minister offered to resign after rioting and looting swept several major cities over the weekend, but President Emmanuel Macron asked him to remain in office and address urgent police needs, Macron’s office said Monday.
Macron rejected Laurent Nuñez’s resignation, citing “the need for continued command of law enforcement in the current context,” according to the presidential statement.
The president directed Nuñez to “take all necessary steps to ensure full transparency” regarding failures in the planning and intelligence-gathering that preceded the violence, Macron’s office said.
Macron also called for “new policing tactics on the ground as quickly as possible” in an effort to stop further violent incidents.
On Sunday evening, groups set fire to trash bins, bicycles and other objects and looted shops in Paris, Lyon, Marseille and other cities. The unrest followed major violence Saturday during nationwide demonstrations over rising living costs and poor conditions in schools. At least 2,400 people were arrested across France.
“I submitted my resignation because I am responsible for everything that is happening,” Nuñez said Monday in an interview with France Inter radio.
“Now, the real issue is ensuring that this doesn’t happen again. … We obviously need to be better at anticipating the kind of mobilization that is unfolding,” he said.
YOU MAY ALSO READ: Hero Dad Stopped Oregon Shooting by Army-Crawling Through Window
Nuñez blamed the violence on “hordes of troublemakers and looters” as well as “far-left activists.” He acknowledged that police tactics must adapt to “extremely mobile groups.” Authorities said groups numbering in the hundreds confronted police and attacked public buildings, including city halls and other government offices.
Nuñez conceded that authorities had “lost control” in some major cities on Saturday, when hundreds of businesses were looted.
“You can’t look shopkeepers in the eye when hundreds of businesses have been looted and say we haven’t lost control in some of these major cities. Obviously,” Nuñez said.
In Limoges, central France, flames engulfed the 19th-century City Hall. The fire caused the roof to collapse and nearly destroyed the building.
In Marseille, the prefect banned protests and other gatherings from noon until 8 p.m. Monday.
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.