Fact Check: Gabriel Attal on RTL – Riots, Authority, and EU Elections Claims Analyzed

RTL Morning, Céline Landreau. >> At 7:43 AM, the guest of RTL Morning. Good morning, Gabriel Attal.

>> Good morning, Céline Landreau. >> Renaissance candidate for the presidency of the Republic, we feel

shame and anger. That is what Emmanuel Macron said last night during his address. An address supplemented this

morning at 7:00 AM by a statement from the Elysée, first explaining that the president had refused the resignation

of his Interior Minister, Laurent Nuñez, and had asked him to implement new methods of action against the

rioters. The head of state also acknowledges failures in anticipation and intelligence. Is this morning's

statement from the Elysée an admission of failure, Gabriel Attal? >> First, there is an urgent need to

restore order, and the French people are waiting for only one thing: not one more night of this. That is what the

French people expect today, and therefore, decisions must be made to guarantee it. First, all of our

country's law enforcement must be concentrated on protecting the French people and protecting property. We have

known how to do it. I was Prime Minister at the time, during the Olympic Games; all law enforcement,

there were no more leave days, there was no rest, they were all focused on one objective. Are there still law

enforcement officers today who are tasked with static guarding of buildings? If that is the case, they

must be sent to the field, and if necessary, temporarily—since they are not there to maintain order, but just

to hold public buildings statically— we must resort to the armed forces; it must be done.

>> Is that what you are asking the head of state to do today, to deploy the army to restore order in the country?

>> No, because it is not tasked with maintaining order. What I am saying is that all police and gendarmerie forces

today must be concentrated on one objective, which is ensuring the security of the French people, and if,

for certain non-order-maintenance missions where they can be replaced, they are replaced temporarily, that is

what must be done. Second thing, >> what you are also saying is that the government has failed.

>> Obviously, clearly. I mean, first of all, the primary responsibility lies with the rioters, and I hear the

political responsibilities being demanded on one side from LFI, and on the other from the government. But let

us not forget to recall that the primary responsibility lies with the rioters. Secondly, there is clearly a

failure in the ability to anticipate and manage this event. And thirdly, there are political leaders who are

fanning the flames, who consider that violence is legitimate. That, for me, is where the responsibility lies. But

I'll get to the point, because I think that the French people this morning, let me tell you, they aren't yet at the

stage of asking who is responsible. They just want it to stop and for there not to be one more night of this. But

that means that measures should have been taken as early as last night. During his address, the head of state

did not take firm measures. He should have declared a state of emergency. Tell me what I consider must be done

today to resolve this situation. Next, I am saying that all means, including administrative ones, must be used.

Therefore, administrative searches, house arrest. If it is necessary to declare a state of emergency for that,

it must be done. But it must serve measures that will be useful in resolving the problem. Thirdly, there

must be examples made very quickly. The French people and young people need to see, 48 hours after the start of these

events, that there are people being picked up at their homes because they have been identified. And excuse me,

but when we look today and see that there are young people who, on social media or online sales platforms, show

themselves with goods that were stolen in order to resell them, we must be able to identify a certain number of

them and go get them to make examples. We can't afford to be delicate today. What is driving this movement and

causing it to continue is a sense >> of impunity that is being conveyed. So we need examples, we need images, and

there is the possibility today to go and get people who are identified. Things have been stolen, computer

equipment that, in my opinion, can be geolocated. Furthermore, there are advertisements being posted online.

There is a large number of videos that have been posted on social media. And for the future, moreover, I have been

advocating for this for a very long time, we must be able to use facial recognition and artificial intelligence

to identify people via videos, whether from video surveillance or videos posted online. But I say here, Céline

Landro, that is the short term. This is what can be done to restore the situation, to guarantee the maintenance

of order between now and the presidential election, and then there will be a number of choices to be made

because we are not just talking about maintaining order, we are talking about a civilizational issue. How can we

accept and how can we look at a portion of the youth who believe there is such impunity and such a lack of community

that they can go out at night to loot, to strike, and to attack shopkeepers. That is the real issue. And I have

sometimes been caricatured for my desire for authority. When I said if you break it, you fix it. When I

presented a bill to fight against juvenile delinquency. The President of the Republic should have accepted his

Interior Minister's resignation as it stood. Understand, >> it is also one of the necessary symbols

. I will tell you, I understand that the Interior Minister submitted his resignation and I understand that the

President of the Republic refused it in the heart of the crisis because you still had events happening last night.

I think that in this short-term crisis management, we do not need to have the slightest hesitation at the head of the

Interior Ministry. So that is my answer on that subject. But once again, there is the short term and then what we can

do in the long term. And I put myself in the shoes of the French people listening to us, who are angry, who are

worried, and for some, who are afraid. I want to tell them that nothing is inevitable. Well, precisely

>> with strong decisions, decisions taken, decisions owned, and decisive actions, it is possible to act. I also tell them

to be wary of those who shout the loudest because >> So Gabriel, speaking of words,

>> you were, as you said, a little bit caricatured 3 years ago, in January 2024, during your general policy speech

, you stated forcefully before the parliamentarians. If you break it, you fix it, if you dirty it, you clean it,

if you defy authority, you are taught to respect it. It doesn't feel like, nearly 3 years later, this lesson on

authority has been understood. Did you also fail? >> I arrived at Matignon, I said that one

of France's problems is the lack of authority and the feeling of impunity. >> You didn't succeed in restoring it.

>> And so I effectively said if you break it, you fix it, if you dirty it, you clean it, if you defy authority, you

are taught to respect it. I announced a bill to combat juvenile delinquency that was supposed to be examined by

Parliament in the summer of 2024. What happened in the meantime? The dissolution, which prevented me from

seeing this text through to the end. And do you realize, Céline Landroot, that it will be two years, and it is

two years later that the "breaker pays" bill reaches Parliament, since it will be examined by the Senate in October?

Do you realize the time lost because of the dissolution on this subject? It's true that I have been caricatured on

this subject. I was, you know, when I was Secretary of State for Youth and I wanted to re-establish universal

national service. I was when I was Minister of National Education and I wanted greater authority and stricter

sanctions in schools. I was when I was Prime Minister and I wanted a law to fight against juvenile delinquency. The

reality is that we have a civilizational problem with a part of the youth who consider that there is no

collective and therefore we can do what we want, and that furthermore, there is such impunity that there is no risk of

being pursued when we commit delinquency. That is the deep problem we have today. And forgive me, I didn't

identify it today, as you reminded me, I have had the opportunity in all my roles to want to act on this subject

>> without being able to resolve it. In this context, the demonstration on November 5th, called by the unions,

must be able to take place. Gabriel Attal, >> France is a great country and a great

democracy. We cannot accept that there can no longer be demonstrations in France. And I say it here because,

unfortunately, we are so busy talking about these problems of security and violence. There are French people this

weekend who demonstrated totally peacefully, totally in respect of the laws of the Republic, who have demands

that obviously have their legitimacy, which must be heard and answered. >> Obviously, there is a security response

to this crisis that is absolutely necessary, but the response cannot be only security-based. And I say it here,

I do not forget the demands of the young people in particular who mobilized. I do not forget the

expectations of the French people who took to the streets. I also do not forget the expectations of the French

people who did not take to the streets but who think about it nonetheless, to which we must provide answers

>> to avoid it degenerating on November 5th. Valérie on the RTL app asks the question and tells us: why don't we

shut down social media during these gatherings? Let me tell you, you have, uh, these, uh, riot phenomena that we

see are, uh, passing through social media. Meaning that you have both gathering points and meeting points

that are organized via social media. So , we cut them off. >> I'm getting there. And secondly, you

have a copycat effect that is organized by social media. >> It just so happens that when I was

Prime Minister and we had riots in New Caledonia, I made the decision to block access to a social network in the

territory of New Caledonia. The state was condemned for that. >> Temporarily, the Council of State said

that we could block social networks legally. >> In this instance, there was a question

of proportionality. I’ll say it here: obviously, this must be one of the tools that can be used if the movement

continues and it is established, as is the case today, that social media is being used for this. It must be a

temporary blockade, targeted at the territories where the riots are taking place, because once again, you have

gathering points being made via social media and you have a copycat effect being organized. You have young people

at home who see their peers going to loot, which gives the feeling that it's done with impunity. They see it on

social media, so they go too. That is what is happening right now. >> We are almost six months to the day

from the first round of the presidential election. Gabriel Attal, will it be possible to campaign

normally in a context like this? >> We need a real campaign. We were just talking—François Langlais was

talking about financial issues, which are absolutely major. Today, we are talking about these issues of authority

. There are many subjects on which the French people are waiting for us, and furthermore, I say it, all this shows

that we need a new pact for the youth. It is not acceptable to see both young people who want to study, who want to

do well, who want to find a place in society, and who cannot manage to do so for reasons related to the resources

provided in school. And two, it is not acceptable to have young people who engage in violence with total impunity

and who clearly do not have the, do not have the desire to be part of the nation. And so you are demanding

examples. We understood that this morning. Thank you, Gabriel Attal. Please stay with us for a moment.

>> Alex Vizorek, and I remind you that at 8:15, it will be Raphaël Glucksmann facing Olivier Boy on RTL right now. Ah

.