Hundreds of cars burned in Christmas fire; what’s going on in France?
: Not long after the historic fall of the French government, the French parliament overwhelmingly voted against right-wing Prime Minister Michel Barnier on Wednesday evening, just three months after President Emmanuel Macron appointed him.
After Barnier was dismissed, Macron’s center-right ally François Bayrou was appointed as the country’s new prime minister last Friday, but the violent domestic developments in the country during the New Year holidays showed that France’s inflamed and crisis-ridden situation was still persistent.
According to French media reports, about 100,000 police and security forces were deployed in Paris and other cities to prevent unrest. The largest concentration of security forces and police was in Paris and its suburbs, where 10,000 officers were deployed. However, despite the widespread deployment of police and security forces, hundreds of cars were set on fire in Paris and various French cities and hundreds of people were arrested.
French Interior Minister Bruno Retalo said 984 cars were set on fire. Some 420 people were arrested, 310 of whom are in police custody. He called the figures unacceptable, adding: “This violence is the product of barbarity, created by cowards and thugs, who attack the property of French people who do not have the means to protect their vehicles in private parking lots.”