PARIS — French President Emmanuel Macron has rejected an offer by Interior Minister Laurent Nunez to step down after violent protests swept the country, the presidency announced on Monday.
Nunez submitted his resignation on Sunday, but Macron determined that senior security officials must remain in place to manage the ongoing crisis.
“The interior minister submitted his resignation to the president on Sunday,” the Elysee palace said in a statement. “Given the necessity for continued leadership of law enforcement at this time, the president refused.”
Macron spoke out against what he characterised as “failures” that permitted the unrest to unfold across the country.
According to the presidential statement, Macron instructed Nunez to “take all necessary steps to ensure transparency over the failures in planning and intelligence that led to the violence”.
The president also directed the interior minister to introduce revised operational methods for security forces tasked with handling the crisis.
