Liberté, égalité, fraternité: This is what France is celebrating on today’s national holiday. But there is great fear that the violence of the past few weeks could flare up again. A view.
Fireworks are a double-edged sword in France right now. On July 14th it is traditionally the soundtrack to celebrate freedom, equality and fraternity full of pathos. After the death of 17-year-old Nahel at the end of June, fireworks were also thrown at police forces and public buildings for nights on end. “Please, not again,” thought many a mayor and canceled the party for “quartorze juillet” to be on the safe side.
That’s impossible, says Marine Le Pen, leader of the far-right Rassemblement National. “I’m stunned that some municipalities have decided to simply cancel the July 14 celebrations,” she said. “Imagine that: in our great French democracy we forgo our national holiday – and only because of possible outbreaks of violence or because a few maybe decide to make a riot?” In reality, this shows “that some municipalities have completely lost confidence in the state”.
“I’m stunned,” says Marine Le Pen, referring to the canceled celebrations on National Day.
Government wants to “show toughness”
The French government apparently wants to correct this picture as a matter of urgency. At the end of last week, she banned the sale of fireworks to private individuals. Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin emphasized on Wednesday that nobody had to cancel events – and presented a long list of safety precautions.
“A total of 130,000 police officers will be on duty on July 13 and 14. Each evening, 45,000 of them are specifically responsible for preventing violence in urban areas,” explained the interior minister. “We want to guarantee maximum security so that citizens can enjoy the national holiday – and so that not a handful of criminals cause inconvenience. We will be tough on anyone who wants to spoil this day.”
Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin announced the deployment of tens of thousands of police officers.
Political pressure from the Conservatives
“Show toughness” and “establish order”: in connection with the unrest, these were the French government’s priorities from the start. The political pressure behind this attitude comes not only from the far right, but especially from the conservatives Les Républicains.
The party leadership proposed a series of law-and-order measures last week. “Young people must also take responsibility for their actions – which is why we want full criminal responsibility from the age of 16,” explained party leader Éric Ciotti. “And it must be possible to convict minors who endanger public order in summary proceedings – as it is also possible with adults.”
However, the Républicains are not only limiting themselves to security policy demands, but are increasingly trying to explain the fault lines and problems in society by origin. Bruno Retailleau, head of the Senate Républicains, sees a connection between the riots and immigration. “I’ve spoken to many mayors, and they all say that the problems are mainly there where real ‘migration ghettos’ have arisen,” says Retailleau. “Of course, most of these people are French – on paper. And unfortunately, for the second and third generation of immigrants, we are finding that there is a step backwards. A retreat to the ethnic roots.”
Occupy gap next to the Rassemblement National
It is above all the French conservatives who are currently shifting public discourse further and further to the right. And in doing so, they try to narrow the political space between the government, which is supposedly too lax, and the Rally National to occupy. This is how the political scientist Émilien Houard-Vial analyzes it at France Culture.
“There is a will among the Républicains to break with the current situation; to say, so to speak: lukewarm solutions, technical solutions — especially when it comes to issues like immigration,” says Houard-Vial. “And at the same time you’re not the Rassemblement National and you want to show that you can do better. On the one hand, the Républicains want to appear credible in terms of content, even if they are addressing the RN electorate. According to the motto: We have the same ideas – but are more able to implement them.”
Macron is not planning a speech on national holiday
And President Emmanuel Macron? He sticks to his well-known attitude of “neither nor”. Macron spoke on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Vilnius on Wednesday. And at the same time – audibly annoyed – he emphasized again that the events of the past few weeks are neither a social nor a security problem.
“Is it because the state has invested too little in the banlieues? – No! We’re investing far more than before my first term in office,” stressed Macron. “Is it because of a lack of security forces or judicial staff, as others say? – No! We created more than 10,000 jobs.” Things are more complex. “We will work in a structured way to find the best possible answer in the coming weeks and months,” said the head of state.
However, the President will not comment today, it was said from the Élysée Palace – but probably “in the coming days”. A sign that Macron does not yet have a brilliant idea of how he wants to bring “freedom, equality, fraternity” and the current situation together in a speech.