French Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin said on Tuesday he wanted tougher punishments for anyone found guilty of "violence" against law enforcement officers, after arrests this weekend during Champion's League football celebrations.
The huge celebrations following Paris Saint-Germain's 5-0 victory over Inter Milan in Germany on Saturday were marred by numerous incidents and acts of vandalism in Paris and the rest of France.
Police arrested 563 people on Saturday night, the interior ministry said, after more than 200 cars were torched and police clashed with youths.
In the southwest town of Dax, a 17-year-old boy died after being stabbed in the chest.
A 23-year-old man riding a scooter in central Paris also died after a vehicle hit him.
Dozens of police officers and firefighters were injured in the unrest.
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Authorities detained 79 others on Sunday night, including for allegedly firing fireworks at security forces, trying to vandalise shops and blocking traffic.
Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin wrote on social media platform X on Tuesday that magistrates needed better legal tools to deal with the fallout of such events.
Some of those arrested appeared in court on Monday, with three hearings resulting in suspended sentences of two to eight months, along with a 500-euro ($570) fine, the Paris prosecutor's office said.
Around 20 more suspects were set to be tried on Tuesday.
Radical change needed
Darmanin, who has expressed interest in standing in the 2027 presidential election, argued the first court sentences were not tough enough.
"Some of the sentences for violence – including against law enforcement officers and for destruction of property – are not proportional to the level of violence our country is experiencing," the former interior minister said.
"The law needs to radically change," he added.
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Darmanin called for an end to obligatory adjustments for jail terms of fewer than six months, which for example allow detainees to serve time at home with an electronic bracelet.
He called for an end to suspended sentences in such cases and a law to set up a "systematic minimum sentence" for those found guilty.
He suggested "a minimum of three months in jail for any assault against a representative of the state or a very steep fine for any destruction".
'Ruin the party'
While the weekend's excesses sparked a controversy over security among MPs on the far-right and far-left, Darmanin's statement also sparked a reaction in political circles.
"Clearly, the French want exemplary sanctions and an end to sentence reductions for the rioters who ruined the party on Saturday. The only hope is that this violence, this vandalism, WILL NOT HAPPEN AGAIN in the future," wrote Valérie Pécresse, President of the Île-de-France region, on X.
Olivier Faure, First Secretary of the Socialist Party, told TF1 television warned against getting carried away.
"The justice system's role is to examine each case and not to manage it based on collective emotion," he commented.
"It's about ensuring that justice is fair and that it seeks to understand the circumstances."
Receiving the triumphant team at the Elysee palace on Sunday, President Emmanuel Macron condemned what he called "unacceptable" violence during the celebrations.
(with AFP)
