REPLAY: French President Emmanuel Macron addresses the nation after unrest

Well, we will go to the Elysee Palace, because in just a few seconds' time, that moment has come where President Macron will speak to the nation, and there is a lot of anticipation. Let's go there now. Fellow citizens, I'm speaking to you tonight in a time of considerable gravity. Since yesterday around France, in mainland France and in its overseas territories, we have seen groups from the far left joined by a number of delinquents and criminals breaking out in extreme violence throughout our nation. Shops were broken into, public buildings. were attacked and in some instances destroyed. Hundreds of police staff were wounded. In seeing the images that we have all seen, we can all think, what are they thinking? How can they do this to France? Why would they set the town hall of Limoges alight? Why would they attack the residency of the prefect in Bordeaux? Why would they do this? Nothing can justify their actions, nothing can explain their actions, and nothing will excuse their actions. We all tonight feel angry, we feel shame as well, seeing the disasters that have unfolded in our streets. We have undying support for our law enforcement agencies because they did their utmost to stave off the worst. Our thoughts go out to the number of wounded staff and their families. Our thoughts go out to all of the elected officials and mayors. And I would like to spare a thought for all of the small business owners who have suffered the fright of all of the chaos. Some of them themselves defending their own shops, their own windows. I want to let them know that they will be not left alone. The government will provide them with answers. And as of tomorrow, the Prime Minister will preside over a crisis unit to find answers as fast as possible to provide support for those people who are facing considerable hardship. But we need to have a clear mind of what has happened. Yesterday, with the law enforcement agencies did their best and yet they faced considerable violence. So I have asked the government to learn as much as they can from what has come to pass and to implement actions for the future. And I am waiting for very clear solutions. This is what I asked of the Interior Minister. Investigations will be done according to the law as fast as possible. and we will make sure that the legal proceedings that will follow are done according to the law, because we need answers and we need the justice to prevail. For any illegal act that was committed, there needs to be a response. Those people who looted need to pay back for their crimes. Those people who attacked government buildings need to pay for their crimes. Yesterday, some hundreds and thousands of men and women, fellow citizens, protested with legitimate claims. And we should never mix up those people, those men and women who protested peacefully, with looters and rioters, because there are people out there who rightfully feel that the price of fuel is going to too high a price which has increased because of what is happening in the Persian Gulf, a war that France was not part of. This is a discontent that is being expressed in other European capitals. And there is a lot that we can do to ensure that we have our own fuels, that we can weigh in on the price of fuel. And as of tomorrow morning, I will head out to the Gulf states to speak on behalf of France. The Prime Minister and the government have also made a number of decisions, along with fuel supplies throughout our nation to try and find something to do in terms of fuel prices. We need to find solutions for purchasing power, and I know that the French men and women of our nation are waiting for us to come forward with solutions. The youth of our nation are expressing great anguish and concern about the future, the conditions of where their careers will take them, what role they will be able to play in society. They say that the future that they have is not one that we could desire. And I hear what they are saying. For the past 10 years, I've been fighting for them. So we need to pay heed to what they're saying. And we mustn't minimize the hardships that they are facing. The government is already working with the Ministry for National Education to put in place a platform which has already seen a few thousand contributions from academics, from school representatives alike, and we will pull that together to come forward with further solutions. We have a dual responsibility. We need to hear the angry people of our nation and take heed of what they are saying, while ensuring that there is order in our state. We mustn't mix up violence and protests. And that is why, tonight, I want to say that we are embarking upon a very clear method. Given the current climate, local prefects will work with mayors to do what they have to do to protect cities, shops and buildings, and they will continue to ban certain gatherings where necessary. Second, I call on all political parties, professional organizations, trade unions, to condemn every form of violence and to call for calm. We must all take responsibility for the fact that our nation needs order, calm, and it must not escalate. In the coming days, the Prime Minister will meet with various organizations to come forward with more solutions. We cannot ask our youth to believe in a future without giving them the possibility to build that future, to take part in the discussion. Yes, we need to get them to sit down at the negotiation table with students, teachers alike, employee representative bodies, local governments, parliamentarians, to sit down together and they will all work with the government to come forward with concrete solutions. The Prime Minister will meet with them in the coming days. for that very purpose. Let me be very clear, for all of the looters and those delinquents, we will come down with a firm hand. There is no impunity. Fellow citizens, the coming elections will take place in just six months. So all of those who are telling you that time is urgent and we must take to the streets, we must not hit the French Republic while it is down. The choices that you will have to make, we have to make in the coming six months, are essential choices. France is a powerful democracy. We have to believe in debate, in public reunions and meetings. It must be done with political parties and not through violence in the streets. It must be done through television, media, through journalism, where we can speak respectfully with each other, but never through disorder and never through looting. Our country deserves a fine presidential election in six months, and that is why I'm calling for people to uphold responsibility. So yes to dialogue, yes to short-term responses to the situation and long-term responses as well, but no to violence. We need to stand united, we need calm and we need respect. Long live the French Republic, long live France.