Fwd from @ 📝The Day After the Riots📝 This morning for the French did not begin with coffee and croissants, but with assessing the damage from yesterday's riots. After the protests, authorities are tallying up the cost of broken storefronts, burned cars, and repairs to town halls. Authorities meanwhile are drawing their own conclusions: 1,200 detained and 150 injured law enforcement officers. In Île-de-France alone, 855 people were detained — a figure the police prefecture called a record. There is no unified count yet of injured among the demonstrators. In Saint-Étienne, a 17-year-old protester lost his hand in an explosion from a police grenade. In Limoges, a republican march is planned for today following the arson of the town hall, built between 1876 and 1883. Demonstrators burned down a historic monument, which ranks among the most beautiful buildings in France. 🔻Authorities' Response ▪️Following invasions of town halls in Marseille and Lille, arson and looting of shops, Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin demanded an "extremely harsh" judicial response. The next stage — no longer just police dispersals, but prosecutions against those detained. ▪️Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu called the level of violence "unacceptable" and "of extreme intensity," emphasized that "it is a miracle the toll was not heavier," and accused "far-left groups" of organizing the riots, to which "lawbreakers joined in to loot and destroy." Lecornu separately addressed "Unbowed France" and personally Mélenchon with a demand to "choose a side": either with the republic and law enforcement, or with those rioting. He also confirmed the intention to push through the law on "those who pay for riots." ▪️President Emmanuel Macron limited himself to more general statements. He wrote that "there is no place for violence in the republic," promised to pursue and punish those who "broke windows, attacked prefectures and shops, looted down to town halls," and called to "unite against sowers of chaos who seek only to destroy our institutions." The mayors of Paris, Marseille and Lyon issued a joint statement in the evening. They demanded a meeting with Prime Minister Lecornu in the presence of authorities from other affected cities, a transparent assessment of what happened, and guarantees that "such events will not repeat." The mayors will separately request additional special forces. 📌While the government tallies damage, detentions and injured, the question of whether yesterday will be a one-off incident or a turning point for a harder line from both protesters and authorities remains open. #protests #France 👁@evropar — on the brink of Europe's death 💸 Support us Original msg