French opposition figures call for interior minister to resign; Retailleau demands state of emergency
Greens, La France Insoumise and National Rally figures said Laurent Nuñez should quit after Saturday's violence. Opposition and union leaders criticised President Macron's televised address.
Politicians on the left and the far right called on Sunday 18 October for French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez to resign over the handling of the violence that followed Saturday’s cost-of-living protests, franceinfo and Le Parisien reported.
Greens leader and presidential candidate Marine Tondelier said Nuñez had “no other way out” than resignation, franceinfo reported. La France Insoumise (LFI) MPs Danièle Obono, Antoine Léaument and Paul Vannier made the same call on X. National Rally spokesman Laurent Jacobelli said Nuñez had been “completely overwhelmed”.
After President Emmanuel Macron’s televised address on Sunday evening, Bruno Retailleau, leader of the Republicans and a presidential candidate, wrote on X that the intervention was “very worrying” and that the President “appears totally overwhelmed”. He asked Macron to declare a state of emergency.
Former prime minister Édouard Philippe said he “would have preferred” decisions “allowing a return to order and the restoration of the authority of the state”. CGT union leader Sophie Binet said Macron “has understood nothing” and had made “no concrete announcement”.
In his address, Macron said Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu would bring together political parties, MPs, unions and local authorities “in the coming days”, 20 Minutes reported.
Serge Papin, the minister responsible for small businesses and trade, will meet retailers, banks and insurers at 9am Monday Paris time, the Economy Ministry said. The reports reviewed for this story did not include a response from Nuñez to the calls for his resignation as of 10pm GMT.
Sources
- "Laurent Nuñez était complètement dépassé" : les appels à la démission du ministre de l'Intérieur se multiplient au lendemain des violences du 17 octobre · franceinfo / AFP
- 17 octobre : au lendemain d'un « désastre absolu », les appels à la démission de Laurent Nuñez se multiplient · Le Parisien
- Violences urbaines : Sébastien Lecornu réunira partis, parlementaires, syndicats et collectivités « dans les prochains jours » · 20 Minutes
- Post by Bruno Retailleau on X · X
- Conséquences économiques des événements du 17 octobre : Serge Papin réunit les fédérations des commerçants, enseignes, artisans et restaurateurs, et représentants des banques et assurances, lundi 19 octobre 2026 · French Ministry of the Economy
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