French Officials Unable to Determine Who Surrenders First in Ongoing Unrest
PARIS — French authorities said they have been unable to establish which side yields first when rioters and government officials confront one another. The question has been added to a short list of unresolved matters that includes the sound of one hand clapping and the order of the chicken and the egg.
President Emmanuel Macron described recent crowd-control efforts as inconclusive. “We tried skunk-scented water cannons,” he said. “It improved the body odor of the people being sprayed. They appeared more comfortable afterward.”
Macron said the government has contacted American counterparts to request large quantities of toothbrushes, toothpaste, and mouthwash. The supplies are intended for both rioters and the officers facing them. “The heavy breathing on both sides has become noticeable,” he said. “We are treating it as a public-health issue separate from the property damage.”
Interior Ministry officials confirmed that rock-throwing has continued in several cities. They noted that the throws have lacked distance and accuracy. One officer said the objects rarely reached their intended targets and often landed short of police lines. No change in tactics was announced in response to the throwing style.
A government spokesman said negotiations remain difficult because neither side has indicated a willingness to stop first. “We ask them to disperse. They ask us to leave. Then everyone stays,” he said. “The sequence repeats.”
Macron added that further measures are under review. He did not specify whether those measures would address the odor, the breath, or the question of which party is expected to withdraw. The unrest continued through the evening.
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