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French President Emmanuel Macron has rejected the resignation of Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez following violent protests across the country, while acknowledging shortcomings in security planning and intelligence.
The presidential palace announced on Monday that Nuñez had offered to step down on Sunday after demonstrations over the cost of living escalated into some of France’s worst urban violence in years.
According to the Interior Ministry, nearly 2,400 people were arrested on Saturday, while almost 1,000 police officers and gendarmes were injured.
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Clashes between security forces and demonstrators, widespread looting and fires were reported across the country.
The Élysée Palace said Macron declined to accept Nuñez’s resignation, stating that continued leadership of the security forces was essential during the crisis.
“The interior minister submitted his resignation to the president on Sunday,” the Élysée Palace said in a statement.
“Given the necessity for continued leadership of law enforcement at this time, the president refused.”
The president acknowledged failures in anticipating the unrest and gathering intelligence, and directed Nuñez to ensure a transparent review of the lapses that contributed to the violence.
Macron also instructed the interior minister to introduce new operational procedures for security forces as authorities respond to the unrest.
Opposition politicians had called for Nuñez’s dismissal following the scale of the violence.
