French president refuses interior minister's resignation after protests: Elysee

A protester runs through tear gas while a flea market is taking place during clashes between protestors and police officers in Paris, Sunday, Oct. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Emma Da Silva)

French President Emmanuel Macron slammed on Monday "failures" that he said led to violent protests that rocked the country, but refused the resignation of Interior Minister Laurent Nunez over the 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 had asked Nunez to "take all necessary steps to ensure transparency over the failures in planning and intelligence that led to the violence" and "put in place new operational methods for security forces" to handle the crisis, the statement said.