The “crisis management” mode has been activated at the top of the state.
Scenes of chaos revealed to the whole world, racketeering operations organized by gangs, English supporters gathered around the Stade de France, tear gas used by the police... The case of the Liverpool-Real Madrid League final des champions, held Saturday evening in Paris, continues to embarrass the executive - the Ministers of the Interior and Sports in the first place, Gérald Darmanin and Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, just named.
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First there is the electoral deadline: the controversy falls in the middle of the campaign for the legislative elections of June 12 and 19, after a month of inertia in the ranks of the executive.
Then there is the sports calendar: France is to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2024, the
"security challenge" of
which has been presented as the
"red thread"
of Gérald Darmanin's action inside.
However, since Saturday, it is both the maintenance of order and the country's ability to organize major sporting events that have been singled out.
Opposition pressure
After a Sunday without speaking in its ranks, the executive is summoned to explain itself under the pressure of the oppositions.
Meeting with the sports authorities, press conference, Minister of the Interior at TF1's "20 Hours": Gérald Darmanin and Amélie Oudéa-Castéra were forced to multiply on Monday.
They are also preparing to answer questions from senators on Wednesday, at the request of the senatorial right.
For the time being, the executive's response is in three stages.
First, to question a
“massive, industrial and organized fraud of counterfeit notes”,
in the words of the Minister of the Interior, mainly due to British supporters.
Then, to ensure its
“support”
for the 6,800 police forces mobilized and for the prefect of police of Paris, Didier Lallement, without whose decisions
“there would have been deaths”
.
Finally, to say
“sorry”
for the situation of the spectators with tickets who could not attend the match, and to express
“regrets”
to those who suffered among them from tear gas.
The government is all the more embarrassed that the competition was initially to be held in Saint Petersburg.
Before Russia's invasion of Ukraine pushed Emmanuel Macron to offer to welcome him to Paris.
The Head of State has personally worked in this direction
Main controversial point, the argument of
"false banknotes"
remains contested by several right-wing and National Rally (RN) officials.
They accuse the government of targeting
"30,000 to 40,000 English supporters"
, according to figures from Gérald Darmanin, rather than the gangs who broke into the Stade de France enclosure.
A denial of reality, according to the nationalists Marine Le Pen and Éric Zemmour, or even the leader of the senators Les Républicains (LR), Bruno Retailleau, who believe that the Minister of the Interior has failed to ensure security against to
"the scum"
.
As for the Insoumis Jean-Luc Mélenchon, he preferred to denounce Sunday
“a complete failure of the police strategy”
.
Attempts at
"political instrumentalization"
, we sweep at the Ministry of the Interior.
The government is all the more embarrassed that the competition was initially to be held in Saint Petersburg.
Before Russia's invasion of Ukraine pushed Emmanuel Macron to offer to welcome him to Paris.
The head of state has personally worked in this direction, to the point that UEFA, organizer of the Champions League, thanked the president at the end of February for
“his personal support and his commitment to relocate the match”
.
Result, three months of preparation against a year usually for this kind of competition, underlines one within the government.
“Tour de France, Roland-Garros, Ryder Cup 2018… France has a real know-how to organize major sporting events”
, insisted on Monday on RTL the Minister of Sports.
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Meanwhile, Emmanuel Macron keeps his distance from events.
Expected to visit a hospital in Cherbourg-en-Cotentin (Manche) on Tuesday, he declined to comment.
Saturday evening, a few minutes after the incidents at the Stade de France, he spoke on Twitter of a
“boiling”
stadium .
But he was referring to La Rochelle's victory at the European Rugby Cup in Marseille.