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“We are experiencing a crisis of confidence,” declares presidential candidate Marine Le Pen. She describes it as “a threat to democracy“. The National Rally leader lays responsibility at the door of the far left and of Emmanuel Macron, a president who she says is “without credibility or authority.”
Marine Le Pen spoke less than two hours before Emmanuel Macron’s address, expected at 20:00.
For his part, the president of the National Rally believes that “order no longer exists in France today“. According to Jordan Bardella, “France was humiliated” on Saturday night. The RN leader made the statement during a visit to a police station in Paris.
Violence flares up again in Paris
Marine Le Pen and her number two are speaking out just as looting has resumed in Paris, less than 24 hours after a day of chaos that has left France reeling.
Fresh scenes of violence erupted in the French capital on Sunday afternoon.
CRS-8, the specialist riot police unit that provides rapid response to urban unrest, has been deployed for the second day in a row.
Tensions are once again centred in the heart of Paris, particularly around Place de la République.
Clashes are pitting several hundred rioters against the forces of law and order.
According to the Paris police prefecture, “An undeclared call to assemble at Place de la République today at 14:00 was circulated on social media”.
Groups of hooded youths have attacked shops and looted them.
30,000 looters in Marseille on Saturday
The latest figures for Saturday’s violence are staggering.
For Saturday alone, the Bouches-du-Rhône prefecture counted more than 30,000 looters. A dizzying figure that has left observers specialising in policing and justice dumbfounded.
Additional sources • AFP