More than two hours of hearing under the fire of questions. Four days after the incidents at the Stade de France, during the final of the Football Champions League, the Minister of the Interior and his colleague for Sports had to report to the Senate. If the government dismisses any error, Gérald Darmanin ended up changing his tone.
From our special correspondent at the Luxembourg Palace, Julien Chavanne
Yes, ” things could have been better organized “. In front of the senators, Gérald Darmanin admitted that the evening of last Saturday obviously did not go as planned.
The negative image of this match is a wound for our national pride. It is obvious that things could have been better organised. Have we avoided the worst? Yes. Can we organize better, could we have anticipated more? Without a doubt.
Gérald Darmanin before the Senate committee
The “first cop of France” has changed its tone. No more chins and accusations. The Home Secretary has apologized to Liverpool supporters and their families for the use of tear gas. It opened the possibility of filing a complaint in Spain and England.
On the merits, the government has not changed its line of defense: the police were numerous enough and the authorities did not fail, repeated the ministers, without convincing the senators.
After staying straight in his boots at the start of the week, Gérald Darmanin therefore played the appeasement, not necessarily by choice. It was Emmanuel Macron who summoned him to calm things down, worried about this new controversy ten days before the first round of the legislative elections.
The President of the Republic did not even need to recall that he fully supported his Minister of the Interior. Gérald Darmanin was by our side, like every Wednesday. Gérald Darmanin is a Minister of the Interior who has the full confidence of the President of the Republic.
Olivia Grégoire, French government spokesperson
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