Macron believes peak protests are over: 280 million euros in claims have already been filed | Abroad

The latter reports the American press agency Bloomberg. By way of comparison: during the last major riots in 2005, 10,000 claims for damages were received for a total amount of 205 million euros. So said Florence Lustman, president of the French insurance lobby France Assureurs at a financial forum in Paris.

French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire previously stated that insurers had agreed to extend the deadline for submitting claims for damages as a result of the violence from five to 30 days.

French President Macron spoke before an audience of some 250 mayors of cities and towns affected by the riots.

After the death of 17-year-old Nahel, France was in turmoil, but peace seems to be gradually returning. “Whether the calm of the past few days is sustainable? I would remain very cautious for the next few days and weeks. But the peak we have known in recent evenings is over,” Macron said.

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Macron also encouraged the mayors. “If you’re here, it’s because you’re a victim. Sometimes in a very direct and personal way. Or that your municipalities have suffered damage to town halls, police stations or schools.”

French President Emmanuel Macron is looking for the reasons behind the riots in his country last week. According to the Elysée, the search for the underlying causes will be difficult and lengthy.

Not all mayors who came to the meeting with Macron are happy with the approach of the French government. They point out that the situation in the working-class neighborhoods is not new at all and that the problems have been known for a long time. Some believe that the rioters should have been dealt with more harshly, others argue for a reform of the police.

A few mayors see the riots as evidence that too many immigrants have been allowed into France in recent years. Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin assured them that this is absolutely not the case and that more than 90 percent of those arrested were French.

Macron previously suggested that the rioters were influenced by playing violent video games and were agitated by social media. He asked parents to keep their children off the street. He has put forward the idea of ​​imposing fines on parents for their children’s vandalism.

The president also immediately announced the introduction of an emergency law. This should make it possible to rebuild the infrastructure destroyed during the riots more quickly.

In the capital region of Île-de-France, a hundred government buildings have been damaged in recent nights. That is what the entourage of regional president Valérie Pécresse says. About 140 communities were affected by the violence that erupted after Nahel’s death.