SCOTT DETROW, HOST:
Clashes with police, looting of businesses, vandalism and the burning of a 19th century bell tower and town hall - these were the striking images from this weekend's protests in France with more than 500,000 people taking the streets across the country. What began as a single strike by high school students and teachers in a Parisian suburb, demanding more staff and resources, has ballooned into nationwide protests and, in many cases, destructive riots over the education system, a growing wealth divide and the rising cost of living. Dominique Moïsi is a political scientist and senior adviser at the think tank Institut Montaigne and joins us now.
DOMINIQUE MOÏSI: Thank you for having me.
DETROW: You're in Paris right now. What was it like this weekend?
MOÏSI: Well, I went out. I live in a bourgeois neighborhood, and it was scary. I had a friend home for dinner. I wanted to accompany him to the metro, and I came into a street that was abandoned to rioters. Police was not there. For the first time in my life, I felt deeply insecure in my own city. The state had simply disappeared. Security was not around. What I saw were people piling cocktail Molotov and other instrument of disorder in my very own street.
DETROW: I mentioned in the introduction how quickly this escalated from an isolated protest to these widespread protests and riots. Why do you think it was so combustive? Why do you think this movement caught on the way it did?
MOÏSI: Well, I think the encounter between the violence of those who were there not to demonstrate, but to break the republic or to benefit from the shops they would steal from and the inefficiency at the end of the measures taken by the police. And so that's a real major problem, especially for a country like France, so proud of its security measures.
DETROW: I want to talk in a moment about what this means for the coming elections and the rise of the far right in France. But first, I want to get your take on the government's response. You know, curfews are going to be imposed (ph) at this point. But at the same time, President Macron, who's had a really, you know, tumultuous time in office and is in his final years, has said that the protesters have some points. What do you make of his response to this and the government's response to this?
MOÏSI: Well, in the case of the president, totally inadequate response. He said to the demonstrators, I understand you. We will speak with each other. There will be a renewed dialogue. And he said to the rioters, well, the law and order will prevail. And then he proceeds by saying, well, I'm flying off to the Gulf countries right after my speech. I have to make sure that you don't pay your gas, your oil, your diesel too high with too high a price. So as if the president had not sees (ph) the impact of this violence on French citizens, totally inadequate answer.
DETROW: Do you think this violence and the government's response is going to put Marine Le Pen into office?
MOÏSI: Well, there are some people who are saying that if presidential elections were going to take place next Sunday, Marine Le Pen would be elected in the first round of these election. Elections are in six months. Many things can happen between today and then. But let's say, you have to be honest. The risk that Marine Le Pen will be the next president of France are very real, very high. It's not inevitable, but it's a strong possibility right now.
DETROW: Dominique Moïsi, a political scientist and senior adviser at the Institut Montaigne, thank you so much.
MOÏSI: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
