Macron convenes Defence Council over French protests
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Ang
Emmanuel Macron convenes France’s Defence Council to discuss new security measures in response to a social crisis marked by demonstrations and curfews. The president is also due to receive student representatives at the Élysée Palace, on the eve of further mobilisation, reports Agence France-Presse.
French President Emmanuel Macron convened the Defence Council on Friday 23 October to examine new security measures, as France faces a social and political crisis marked by demonstrations for more than a month, reports Agence France-Presse. He was also due to meet representatives of the security forces and receive secondary-school pupils at the Élysée Palace, on the eve of a new day of mobilisation.
The meeting with students was to focus on improving teaching conditions and reforming Parcoursup, the national system for access to higher education. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu is for his part due to meet secondary-school pupils on Monday 26 October, after a visit to Limoges, where the prefecture was set on fire during the unrest of 17 October, according to AFP.
The government has maintained a firm line on security. Emmanuel Macron called for greater harshness against perpetrators of violence, and Gérald Darmanin, the Justice Minister, said that 217 people had been remanded in custody among about 2,700 people taken into police custody, reports AFP.
The meeting comes after the restrictions targeting demonstrations in France, announced on 22 October, including a ban on gatherings in Marseille and Lyon the following Saturday.
