Assembly President Braun-Pivet Calls for Parliamentary Inquiry into October Unrest

Yaël Braun-Pivet, president of the National Assembly, intends to put forward a motion on Tuesday morning to create a parliamentary commission of inquiry focused on the violence and looting that accompanied the October protests, as well as the tactics used to maintain public order. Such a commission would be empowered to issue compulsory summonses, obtain documents and hold oath-bound hearings. In the Senate, members of the socialist group have called for a similar investigative body, asking that one outlet information mission on public-order management be prolonged to incorporate analysis of the October events, hear responsible officials and issue recommendations.

The socialist senators condemned the violent acts and stressed that the interior ministry cannot escape responsibility, urging a thorough examination of anticipation failures, staffing levels and the effectiveness of the order-keeping doctrine. They also requested a parliamentary debate on the overall assessment of the October mobilisations. The interior ministry reported numerous arrests and injuries among police, gendarmes and firefighters, while the commerce federation cited extensive damage to shops.