French President Emmanuel Macron rejected Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez’s resignation on Monday, after violent riots in several cities, BFM TV reported, citing the Élysée.

Nuñez’s handling is being questioned amid the violent unrest, the report said. The riots were the most violent France has seen in years and left one protester dead, 600 police officers, gendarmes and firefighters injured and 2,000 people detained, according to the Interior Minister.

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The riots followed protests over the high cost of living.

Macron cited failures in anticipation and intelligence that led to the violence on Oct. 17, according to the report. In a televised appearance on Sunday, he condemned the violence and said those who tried to bring down the Republic would have to answer for it.

Minister Sebastien Lecornu confirmed the number of people detained during the police crackdown on protests in various parts of the country.

The Ministry of the Interior reported that 550,000 people took to the streets nationwide, 110,000 of them in Paris.

The demonstrations,… pic.twitter.com/nPUxeRBPwI

— teleSUR English (@telesurenglish) October 18, 2026

Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said the government would not be “intimidated” by violence and attributed the riots to the “far left” and criminals. The unrest has increased pressure on Macron ahead of presidential elections scheduled for next year.

From teleSUR English via This RSS Feed.